Flip Flop Reckoning
by DreamWvr73
Summary: MacGyver and Gillian find the answers they are looking for and even up the score.


Elena Cantar sighed dreamily as she leaned back against the rim of her cast iron bath tub. Her hair wrapped in a thick white towel; her eyes slid close in bliss at the warm fragrant water that surrounded her. A CD of her favorite melodies played softly over the stereo system and the soft flicker of candles around the bathroom provided the only light.

The sound of boots thumping on the mosaic tile forced her to open her eyes. She turned her head towards the bathroom doorway seeing a figure clad in black cross his arms and lean against the door frame.

_"Mi Amor."_ Elena shifted in the tub, holding out her arms towards him. 

"Come to me." She spoke with a slight Spanish accent; her shining eyes looking like two black pearls.

Murdoc watched her as he casually walked across the white tile, sitting on the rim of the tub. He reached out and ran his hand along the layer of bubbles.

"Have any new information for me my Darling?"

Elena nodded, her hand rubbing his black denim covered knee. "Lots of information, you won't believe it." Her fingers slid further up moving the inside of his thigh.

"But like always _Amor_…there is a price you must pay." She smiled at him, her bright white teeth a sharp contrast to her flawless olive skin.

His face broke into a smile as he stood up. "Oh really and just what might that price be?" 

Murdoc touched the ends of his leather jacket and parted them, letting it slide down his shoulders. He looked around and put it over the towel rack. 

"You know what it is." She spread her arms wide, resting them on the edge of the tub; her gaze becoming a seductive one as she watched him. "I take all the risk to get you what you need from Chancellor."

"And just how do you do that?" Murdoc pulled his boots off and set them beside the sink.

"I'm hacked into Chancellor's personal computer. He doesn't know that everything he puts into it goes to mine. He thinks the network is secure but I found a way through a wireless connection."

"You are brilliant." Murdoc walked back over to the tub; he lifted his legs and stepped over the rim into the warm water.  He sunk down into it; the water sloshing as he gathered Elena in his arms. 

"So you know where MacGyver and Gillian are?" Murdoc kissed her lips as his hand came up and snatched the towel from her head; the long shiny black locks swirling around her face.

"Of course and I also know where they are going." She wrapped her arms around his neck; rubbing herself against him. "MacGyver wants to take out Domino and the little buzzard finally got careless. One of Chancellor's little goons spotted him visiting one of his favorite prostitutes, Alyssa Reese."

Murdoc nodded, his dark eyes focusing on her face. "Ah yes Domino never _could_ resist the allure of her. She has a certain innocent charm that he craves."

"Along with other things about her I'm sure. I know Alyssa; I've used her as an informant several times. She's trustworthy." Elena slid her hands from around his neck and down his silky shirt. "But enough talk about Domino…we have business to take care of first."

Murdoc looked down and watched her small fingers pop open the buttons one by one. He raised an eyebrow as she parted his shirt and leaned over; kissing his chest.

"Always a pleasure doing business with you Elena."

He dropped his head back, a deep sigh coming out of his mouth as he closed his eyes.

"Are you going to go after him?" Elena sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest as she watched Murdoc disappear from the bedroom and reappear with fresh clothes.

"Of course I'm going after MacGyver; he killed someone very special to me."  Murdoc pulled up the jeans over his black boxers and buttoned them up.

"But he's dangerous Murdoc." 

"Yes he is, but he's not invincible."  He slipped the green shirt over his shoulders and adjusted the collar. "And we're going to use Domino's current whereabouts to our fullest advantage."

Elena creased her brow as she looked at him. "We are? How?"

Murdoc turned away from the large mirror and flashed her a dangerous smile.

"Alyssa is your friend but I suspect her _true loyalty lies with money. We give her a lot of it and she'll do whatever we say."_

The dark haired woman looked away; a sad look straightened her lips.

He tilted his head to one side and sighed. Walking back over to the bed, Murdoc sat on its edge and took one of her hands, kissing it. 

"Elena darling you know I simply _must take risks like this in order to bring MacGyver and Gillian to justice."_

She turned her head back towards him. "But now you will leave me again for who knows how long."

Elena pulled her hand away from his. "Until you need me to find out where MacGyver is, that's all you use me for, information and pleasure." Her dark eyes turned fiery. "And I'm the one taking all the risks! What if Chancellor finds out? Do you know what he'd do to me?"

Murdoc puts both hands on her face. "He's not going to find out. You've been feeding me information about MacGyver and Gillian for months. There is no connection between the two of us that HIT can trace. They don't know that you and I have been seeing each other for a long time now and they're not going to find out." He pressed his mouth to hers gently, stroking his fingers down her face.

Elena broke the kiss, opening her eyes. "Murdoc I know you can't be with me but--"

He put his fingers over her lips, stopping them from speaking. "Elena, you know what happens to the people I care about." He dropped his head for a moment before raising it to meet her eyes.

"I could never forgive myself if something happened to you simply because you associated yourself with me."

"I don't _care_ about that Murdoc!" Elena closed her eyes; leaning her forehead against his.

"I love you and I don't care what it costs me to be with you."

Murdoc pulled back and stroked her face. "I know you do and I love you too Elena, that's why I must do this. Now make the call to Alyssa."

A young blond woman rolled over as her client stumbled out of the bed. She stretched her hand out towards the dark wooden nightstand beside her bed and picked up a pack of cigarettes. She pulled one of them out with her teeth and took her silver Zippo out of the packaging, lighting the smoke and snapping the lighter closed with a flick of her wrist. Returning the pack and lighter to her nightstand; she leaned back against the headboard and watched the thin, short buzzard of a man get dressed.

"You're the best Alyssa, I really missed you." 

Domino Demetrio stared at the naked young woman in the bed; his bugging blue eyes widened as he licked his lips slowly. He ran his fingers through his greasy light brown hair; pondering whether or not to indulge himself between her legs once more. 

Alyssa was the best prostitute money could buy and her favors didn't come cheap. The roll in the hay he had just had with the tall, thin, fair skinned beauty had cost him a thousand dollars. She lived on the eastern coast of Mexico, owning a large white adobe hacienda in Matamoros; her life style choice had allowed her to pay for the fancy house in cash. 

"Missed you too Baby." 

Alyssa lied as she blew out a small puff of smoke and deliberately brushed her straight sandy blond hair over her shoulder. It made her breasts lift and that only made the half naked man in front of her openly drool.   

He looked away from her nude form as he pulled his khaki pants up and tucked his grey shirt into them; despite how much he wanted to spend the rest of the night with her another more urgent matter loomed on the horizon.

"I wish I could stay and be with you, but I have to go."

"Awww so soon?"  She put the burning cigarette between her lips and crawled across the bed towards him before stretching out on her stomach.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" Alyssa rose up on her elbows; a seductive smile on her lips as she cocked her head. "Come on Baby…you know you want to stay." 

Domino swallowed hard as he turned around; feeling his erection press against the fly of his pants.

"I told you Alyssa I have to go. MacGyver is after me and staying in one place too long is hazardous to my health."

"Oh all right." She rose to her knees, shifting sideways on the bed. "I suppose living _is_ more important than time with me."

He turned back around and grabbed her, pulling Alyssa into his chest as he kissed her hard before pushing her away.

"If I get back out this way, I'll give you a call." He reached into his pocket and handed her a wad of bills.

"I've got to be back to the village."

Alyssa took the money and watched as Domino cast her once last regretful look and closed the white door behind him.

She waited until she heard the outer door close and flopped back on the bed laughing. Domino was a scumbag but one that met her price and appreciated her talents. Still…there were other more profitable ways for her to earn a living without having to spread her legs for the likes of Domino Demetrio. Her giggling died down as she got off the bed and picked up a white silk robe, slipping it on. She picked up the black cordless phone on top of her dark wood dresser and dialed a number.

A single shot blasted through the dark night, echoing through the hills and down every dirt road in the small sleepy Mexican village. But despite the loud noise, not a single adobe house lit up nor did anyone venture outside to see what caused it.  

Finally one door opened and a dark figure came out, closing the door behind him as he tucked his Beretta into his holster. His dark eyes quickly took in the surroundings, everything seemed peaceful. He heard a sound down the street and his head whipped towards it. Whoever it was had made a huge mistake and was now going to pay for it.

MacGyver strolled down the dirt street, his black trench coat flying behind him. The deep rich leather a sharp contrast to his long blond hair that now covered his shoulder blades. He pulled his gun for the second time that night and for the same deadly purpose as his quiet boot steps brought him closer and closer to the source of the noise.

He found a slumped figure in front of a door. It appeared to be an old man dressed in a dirt smudged white linen shirt and white pants; his salt and pepper head leaning against the doorframe of a light colored house. A tipped over bottle of Tequila in his hand as he slowly turned his head and eyed the blond haired stranger.

_"Quien es?"_ His blood shot eyes widened when he saw the black gun. _"Yo no quiero morir!"_

_"Silencio!"_ Mac crouched down and slapped his hand over the older man's mouth. _"Si usted desea vivir no hable nada!"_ He nodded and the hand was taken away.

_"Porque esta usted aqui?"_ The old man swallowed hard. _"Usted as un amigo __del_ diablo blanco?"__

MacGyver couldn't help but flash a cruel, cold smile. _"Es mi amigo no mas."_

The tequila breathed man gasped. _"Usted le mato?"_

_"Si, el es muerto y no se preocupa porque."_  Mac reached into the pocket of his trench coat and took out a wad of bills. He picked up the man's trembling hand and pressed the bills into them.

_"__Para__ su apuro y su silencio."_ MacGyver pulled the older man closer to his face so he could see into the assassin's whiskey colored eyes. _"Usted entiende?"_

_"Si Senor, todo." _

He stood up, looking down at the frightened man. _"Bueno.__ Tenga una Buena Noche."_

Mac slowly turned around, putting his gun away as he headed back up the road.

A pair of headlights suddenly illuminated him and he opened the door to a black unmarked Explorer and got inside.

"Any problems?" 

Dressed from head to toe in back; Gillian glanced at her companion seeing his deep scowl briefly before once more focusing her attention on the road.  

"Something wrong?"

Mac turned his head away from her, his gaze was on the scenery; the dark desert rolling past the window looking as menacing as the pair driving through it.

"Something's wrong."

"Wrong? What makes you say that?"

He whipped his head towards her, his eyes dark and dangerous. "I taught you better than that! _Think!_ That kill was way too easy!"

Gillian pulled the SUV over, shifting in her seat towards her mentor. 

"The information we got said that Domino was alone and hiding in this village. Of course it was easy no one knew where he was! And it's not as if the villagers posed _any_ kind of a threat!"

MacGyver moved as quickly as a lightning flash grabbing his partner by the arms. He pulled her towards him ignoring her surprised gasp. They were nose to nose, his warm breath on her cheeks as his fingers gripped her upper arms.

"I have instincts Gillian and they're telling me that this was far too quick and clean for my taste. Domino was a professional yet he had no weapons, nothing! Like he was just _waiting for me!"_

"So what do we do?" Gillian swallowed hard as she stared into her furious teacher's face.

"I don't know, what do _you_ think we should do? What do your guts tell you?" He pulled back a little, waiting for her to answer; his grip still firm on her arms.

"We should go." Gillian peered through the windshield into the inky blackness that began just past the end of the hood; the headlights doing little to pierce it.

"Before whoever set Domino up makes his appearance. We're at a big disadvantage here." She turned towards her partner; hoping that she gave the right answer.

His grip suddenly loosened as he moved back into his seat. "Very good."  

The assassin faced forward. "Let's go."

Gillian sighed as she dropped the SUV in gear and pulled back onto the road.

Murdoc raised a pair of black night vision binoculars to his face. The jet Gillian and MacGyver had arrived in came into view, the image a lime green yet clear. It had been covered with a tarp making it invisible; the black mass blocking out some of the stars. 

"Ah there it is. MacGyver chose a prime location to park it too."

The deserted runway the jet sat on was in the middle of the Mexican desert. Literally carved out of the thick mesquite bushes, trees and sand; it had once been a secret landing strip often used by the Trujillo Cartel; the closest thing to civilization a good ten miles in either direction. The long concrete strip now abandoned; they had found another one to fly their drugs in and out of the country. 

"He won't get away this time, we've got him." Murdoc lowered his binoculars; turning towards the short dark skinned man all dressed in black. The two men sat in an olive green Jeep a few hundred yards from the airstrip. They weren't the only ones; three other Jeeps all huddled around them, filled with heavily armed men. 

"My men are ready for him." 

"Good… see that they are Lopez, I want them to remember who they're dealing with. This isn't some petty criminal, he's the world's best assassin and he's capable of anything." 

Lopez nodded; his face serious. "We have the element of surprise; he won't know what hit him."

A small wicked smile forced Murdoc's lips to turn upwards. "Of that we can be sure."

He raised the binoculars once more scanning the road; waiting for the pair of headlights that would signal the beginning of the end for MacGyver and Gillian.

"We're almost there." 

The Explorer rocked back and forth as it rolled through the desert; the dirt path they had been taking had come to an end forcing them over the untamed desert.

Gillian glanced towards her partner, sensing his growing agitation.  "Mac?"

MacGyver stared out the window, his insight evaluating the surroundings. Something was wrong, he knew it; he could _feel it. Every cell in his body was on alert, telling him that danger lurked around the next corner._

"Stop the SUV." He stated; the sentence flat, serious yet demanded instant obedience.

Gillian's foot hit the brake, the big vehicle surging forward briefly; sliding a little in the sand that covered the desert floor.

"What's wrong?" Her heart started pounding as she looked around, seeing nothing but the dark night that surrounded them. "The plane is just up ahead."

"They've stopped." Murdoc adjusted his binoculars; zooming in on the SUV. The black vehicle sat between the plane and the gang of Federales; poised in the dark to strike.

"For what reason?" Lopez picked up another pair and peered through them. 

"They're talking about something." He moved them away from his face; turning towards Murdoc. 

"Perhaps they have changed their minds?"

Murdoc frowned, his lips tightening briefly. "I don't think so; they have no other means to leave the country."

Lopez shook his head; he didn't like the current situation. This wasn't how he and his men usually did things; the pair of assassins not too far away from him were being given too many chances.  

"We should attack now while they're vulnerable and unsuspecting."

The assassin reached into his trench coat taking out his Beretta. He popped the clip out checking on the number of bullets in it before slapping it back in. 

"Give me your gun." He opened the glove box seeing a stack of clips and two grenades.

Gillian reached behind her, flipping the bottom of her shirt up. The gun, warm from her body temperature, pressed into her lower back and she wrapped her fingers around it pulling it out of the waistband of her jeans.

"Here, it's loaded with the armor piercing rounds." She slapped it into the palm of his outstretched hand. 

Her intuitions finally kicked in; she too sensed the presence of someone waiting for them.

Mac set the gun down in the seat beside him and grabbed the open ends of his leather trench coat. He shrugged it off, revealing a long sleeved black turtle neck. The coat was folded up and placed at his feet. He turned around and slipped between the seats into the back of the SUV; lowering the bench. 

His partner handed him both guns; she opened the glove box and passed back the clips and the two grenades.

Mac crawled towards the tailgate, there was a grey carpeted compartment with a thick silver latch; he opened the lid and pushed it back revealing a rifle. 

It was a Beretta 501 bolt action sniper with a dark wooden stock and dark grey steel scope. He picked up a cartridge and slapped it into the underside; just below the scope.

He picked up three more cartridges and closed the compartment. 

Gillian watched him, swallowing hard. Her partner never pulled out the big Beretta unless he had a big target to take out or he expected a pack of trouble. 

"Mac…"

He moved to the farthest point he could, sitting down practically up against the glass. He pressed the stock of the rifle against his right shoulder and peered through the scope; he touched the top of it and flipped the cover lens over it activating the night vision.  

"Gillian, turn this thing around and get us out of here as fast as you can." He replied without looking at her and the serious tone of his voice made his partner's blood freeze.

She turned back around and stared out the windshield knowing that the second the vehicle moved whoever it was would come out of the shadows. Gillian took a deep breath and dropped the SUV into drive, stomping on the gas pedal.  The tires spun on the dirt briefly as the Explorer took off in a burst of speed; she turned the wheel hard; the vehicle whipping around and speeding off in the opposite direction.

_"Vamos!__ No los deje conseguir legos!"_

Lopez shouted into his radio as he set it in his lap and fastened his seatbelt as Murdoc started up the Jeep.

A scowl turned Murdoc's face menacing; he growled in frustration as he followed the departing SUV. MacGyver knew, somehow he _knew they were there waiting for him and that fact only angered Murdoc._

"Tell your men to spread out! And not to follow too close! He could have weapons!"

Lopez glanced at him, once more picking up his radio.

_"Tenga cuidado!__ El peude ser armado!" _

His men acknowledged his orders as the pack of three Jeeps around them suddenly picked up speed. 

They fanned out, each vehicle contained two men; the driver, the other moved into the back and took the cover off a machine gun and prepared to fire at the Explorer as soon as the distance between them was closed.

MacGyver gazed through the scope; the bright light of the full moon above helped him to see the three Jeeps racing towards them and the one that kept its distance.

"Gillian! Floor it! We got company!" He shouted as he held the rifle closer to his shoulder.  The vehicle took off like a shot, the momentum rocking him back a little.  Mac sat back up and tried to take aim; the jostling of the Explorer as it ran over the bumpy desert terrain made it difficult to line up a shot in the crosshairs.

Gillian watched him through the rear view mirror. "Can you see who it is?" 

Her heart was in her stomach as she saw the headlights coming closer. Because the Jeeps weren't as massive as the SUV they could come up on them at a faster rate than the big truck could get away.

"They're in black probably the Federales," MacGyver pointed his rifle at the closest pursuer, a Jeep on the right hand side. 

"Come on…come on!" He complained as he tried to get any part of it to line up in his sight. 

"They're getting closer!" Gillian too, saw the approaching vehicle.

"I know! Just hold it still a minute!" Mac shouted at his protégé as he finally got his shot. 

"I got you, _bastard!_" He squeezed the trigger; the bullet shattering the back window and went straight into the Jeep's grill. 

A stream of white smoke suddenly burst out of the hole in the radiator. The driver panicked at the shot; he jerked the wheel over hard. The Jeep began rolling, kicking up dust and crunching loudly before finally coming to a stop upside down; smoke pouring out from the battered vehicle.

"_Mierda_!_" Lopez exclaimed as he fumbled with the radio and tried calling the two men with it. _

He got no reply and a bleak expression spread across his face. The radio dropped from his hands as he covered his face.

Murdoc saw him, he too felt pained. "I'm sorry Lopez, truly sorry for the loss of your men," He once more focused on the road, seeing two more of the Jeeps were almost on top of MacGyver. 

"We're going to capture MacGyver, I promise you."

His jaw clenched; he knew the assassin would be armed but not with the sort of high powered rifle that had taken out the radiator with a single shot. 

Lopez uncovered his face sighing heavily. "It is an honorable death…dying while doing their duty will ensure their families will be taken care of by the government." 

The dark haired man's face suddenly grew dangerous, "We're going to get that _maricon__!"_

Mac rose to his knees gripping his gun by the stock and bringing the bottom of it into the broken back window. The glass tinkling like wind chimes as the assassin busted through it. 

He saw three Jeeps closing in on them and a machine gun burst made him drop down. The bullets hit the back of the truck popping the tail lights and bumper, turning it into metal lace; the targets were obviously the back tires.

Gillian heard the shots instinctively ducking her head. She saw the flash of the firing machine gun and an idea suddenly came to her.

"Mac! Get ready to come face to face with one of those Jeeps!"

He lifted his head and glanced towards the front of the truck, quickly rising to his knees.  

A pair of headlights suddenly shone on him and his whiskey eyes turned fiery. He picked up his Beretta and slid it back.

"Do it!" He leaned with his back against the seat; slinging one arm over it. 

Gillian slammed on the brakes, the sudden stop made both her and Mac jerk. She pulled the gear shift down two and stomped on the gas pedal. The truck jerked hard once as it took off backwards, slamming into the Jeep that had been directly behind it.  

The impact knocked the other driver unconscious and forced Mac to fall forward, down on all fours. He raised his head seeing one of the agents crawling through the hole where the back window used to be. The two vehicles were locked together by the shredded remains of the Explorer's bumper. 

He launched himself at the man, the two of them colliding and falling to the grey carpeted truck bed. They rolled over once, the agent taking the upper hand as his fingers grabbed Mac by the throat. 

MacGyver didn't have his gun; the force of two bodies hitting one another had knocked it from his hand. He could feel the strong fingers of the man pressing into his windpipe. 

Gillian saw what was happening; she faced forward. She stomped on the brakes again and put the gear shift back in drive; the force snapped the Explorer's bumper off and separated the two vehicles.  The forward momentum rocked the agent but his grip on MacGyver's throat remained. 

The assassin gritted his teeth as he began feeling around on the floor for either his gun or something else. His fingers bumped something…it was a grenade.  Mac had a good grip on it as he raised his legs kicking at the man strangling him. His knee connected solidly with the side of the agent's head; knocking him over onto his side. 

Quickly sitting up, MacGyver found his gun and was about to blow the agent away when another idea came to him. 

Mac grabbed the agent by the black vest he wore and pulled down the zipper; sticking the grenade in it. He moved the unconscious man to the tailgate, seeing the third Jeep was a few feet behind them.  The assassin pulled the pin on the explosive; he waited a few seconds and shoved the man out of the speeding vehicle and ducked down.

The agent fell onto the sand; the pursuing Jeep ran over him just as the grenade went off.

MacGyver rolled onto his back, panting hard. He touched his throat, wincing at how sore it felt. He sat up slowly and picked up his rifle; peering through the eyepiece at the last Jeep. It was much closer now and when he saw the driver, a deep venomous scowl filled with pure hatred darkened Mac's features.

"Son of a _bitch!" He hissed loudly as his fingers tightened on the trigger._

"What? What's wrong?" Gillian moved the mirror so she could see her mentor.

"It's Murdoc! He's the one behind all this!" 

"Bastard!" His partner said as she hissed. "He just doesn't give up!"

The sound of machine gun fire rang out as the last Jeep began firing at the Explorer. Mac dropped down, curling himself into a ball and covering his head.

Gillian ducked, lowering her head a little; she began turning the wheel to the right and left making the SUV fishtail.

Mac didn't move, he wasn't about to get up and become a target; that's exactly what Murdoc wanted.

"Floor it Gill!"

"I'm trying to floor it! The swerving affects the speed!" Gillian peeked in her rearview mirror watching the Jeep coming closer and with it the stronger possibility of Murdoc shooting out their back tires.

She wasn't about to let that happen. 

"Hang on Mac!" She stomped on the brake and threw the truck into reverse.  The two vehicles slammed into one another and Gillian put it back in drive and took off. She went ahead a short distance and turned the wheel hard; whipping the truck around. Both the Jeep and the Explorer were now facing each other.

Murdoc saw what she was doing and grinned, the smile a cold one. 

"I do believe she wants to play chicken. That's fine, we can play this game." 

He put the Jeep in park and began revving the engine up.

Lopez's eyes grew wide. "Are you _loco?" He saw the size of the Explorer and shook his head._

"You better have your seatbelt on," Murdoc stated to him as he shifted into drive and floored it.

Gillian saw him and did the same, the SUV surging forward. She saw that part of the desert floor up ahead had a deep crevice in it; she knew what would happen if she hit it going fast.

"Mac…you better find something to brace yourself with back there, this isn't going to be pretty."

MacGyver looked over the seat, seeing that he had no time to brace himself. There were two shoulder straps in the back where an additional bench seat would go if the owner of the vehicle chose that option. There was no third bench so he gripped the seatbelt like a rope with both his hands and his legs.

His partner saw in her mirror that Mac was as secure as he was going to get; she put the gas pedal all the way to the floor. Her heart raced within her chest as the two vehicles got closer and closer; neither one appeared to be swerving.

Lopez panted hard watching the dark Explorer coming straight at them. He tried to think of what to do; Murdoc had a determined look on his face, nothing was going to sway him or the Jeep. Lopez thought of the machine gun and turned around grabbing it off its pedestal; he started firing it at the oncoming vehicle.

Gillian's grip tightened on the wheel turning her knuckles white. The front window shattered from the machine gun fire and a stray bullet caught her in the shoulder. She gasped, grabbing it with her hand; the warm blood quickly seeping through her shirt and from between her fingers. 

The deep crevice was coming up and she smiled in satisfaction as she felt the front wheels hit it and the Explorer become airborne. 

The massive vehicle sailed through the air, as it hung there for what seemed like an eternity before dropping straight down onto the Jeep. The weight flattening the vehicle into a pancake and bouncing off of it; the momentum kept going causing the SUV to begin rolling end over end. 

Despite MacGyver's hold on the seatbelt, the harsh impact made him partially lose the grip. His back slammed into the roof of the truck; he was thrown forward hitting the floor hard. Mac lost his hold of the seatbelt and bounced back and forth between the bed and the ceiling like a human rag doll. Every bone in his body screamed in pain as he watched the windows crunch in. They shattered, a spray of glass flying everywhere as the groaning and twisting of the metal echoed around him when both the back and the front were pushed in.  

At last the vehicle stopped; ending up right side up. MacGyver landed with a thud against the bed of the truck. He groaned as he raised his head; feeling the warm trickle of blood rolling down his face. All he saw was a huge cloud of steam rising from the hood, drifting into the broken windshield. 

Gillian lay slumped back in her seat her head lolled to one side; the airbag had discharged pinning her between the huge balloon and the chair.

"Murdoc…" Mac thought to himself as he forced himself to get up. He climbed over the backseat and took out his Swiss Army knife stabbing it in the airbag, popping it. He peeked around Gillian, scowling when he saw her bloody hand dangling and small cuts on her face and neck from the driver side window. He touched her chest finding the wet spot from her shoulder. Her turtleneck was pulled down and he saw blood oozing out of the bullet hole. 

"Bastard!" He tried to keep a grip on his anger as he reached down and unbuckled her seatbelt. 

MacGyver looked around the battered remains of the SUV. He grabbed his rifle, trench coat, the two guns tucking them into his holsters and the last grenade.  He managed to kick open the passenger side door and get out. Raising his face to the full moon Mac looked around. He saw nothing but the pancake Jeep; no sign of Murdoc and his cohort.

The assassin's bloody face reflected intense anger; it boiled his amber eyes. Mac wanted to make both men sorry for what they had done; especially Murdoc. He wanted Murdoc to pay and slowly along with anyone else that had been behind this set up and the injury to his partner.  

Reaching into the battered Explorer MacGyver lifted Gillian, setting her carefully over his shoulder. He pulled the last grenade from his pocket, moved several feet from the vehicle and pulled the pin; tossing the grenade under it. 

Mac widened the distance between them as fast as his battered body would allow him to; escaping into the night as the SUV exploded twice. The grenade first and then the gas tank causing a huge fireball behind him; Mac felt the heat of it on his back as he walked away.

MacGyver panted hard as he carried his partner through the dimly lit desert. Every step a difficult one; his adrenaline rush was wearing off and with it came pain. 

He dropped to his knees, carefully laying his partner down. He couldn't take one more step; he just didn't have it in him. 

"Gill?" He cupped her chin, his fingers patting her cheek.  "Gillian, wake up!"  The force in his voice made his throat complain and he winced as he swallowed hard.

Gillian sighed, her head moving a little. A soft groan escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered open.

"Mac?" Her dark eyes widened when she saw the drying blood trail that went down his right cheek. Murdoc came back to her and she tried to sit up; the action jostled her shoulder and she bit her lip against the sudden flare up of pain.

"Where is he?" 

"Gone."  Mac squeezed his eyes shut as he sat down on the soft sand.

"We need to find someplace to hide. I don't think either one of us is in very good shape right now."

Mac opened his eyes, raising his head to gaze at his protégé. His dark eyes were glassy and pained yet the venom for Murdoc remained unwavering.

Gillian reached up, brushing his cheek. "My shoulder is killing me but you look more worse for wears than I do."

"Nothing I can't handle." He scowled as he reached up and touched his head; feeling the cut above his eye.

She sighed, sitting up slowly and gripped her shoulder gently. "Someone set us up, didn't they?"

"Yes. It's the biggest mistake they've ever made and the last one they're ever going to make." 

MacGyver's cold tone sent a shiver down his student's spine and for a brief moment she felt pity for whoever was involved in all this. But the realization that whoever it was had nearly killed them made her pity blow out like a candle.

"Come on…we have to go." Gillian got to her feet and held her good arm to her mentor.

They clasped wrists and Gillian back up a step pulling her partner to his feet. She kept a firm hold on his arm and slung it across her neck.

Mac didn't like this; being helpless or dependant on anyone to help him. But Gillian wasn't just _anyone_ and he knew it; that thought made him relax and lean against her as they walked.

"Let's stop for a second." 

Gillian's breathing was a little ragged as they stopped; her shoulder throbbed miserably but she tried not to think about it. 

MacGyver dropped his head, panting. "We have to keep going."

"I know but we need to rest first." She tried to help her teacher sit but he refused, planting his feet.

"I said we have to keep going!" 

Two pairs of angry eyes focused on one another as Gillian stood toe to toe with her mentor; her scowl just as dark and menacing as his.

"We're both hurt, Mac, the last thing we need to do is push ourselves! Preserving what strength we have is the only way we're going to make it out of this desert alive!"

"Do you think I'm an _idiot_?" Mac shouted as he glared at his partner; he was exhausted and his whole body began to feel the effects of it. 

"I wouldn't stick us out in the middle of the damn desert without some contingency plan Gillian!" 

She looked away from him; he touched her chin and turned her face back. He saw the hurt and fear in her face and that took the edge off his frustration towards her; his stern expression softened.

"We're going to be all right. There's an abandoned village about 3 miles north of here, I stocked it with everything we would need in case something went wrong."

Gillian nodded, sighing. "Lesson 4…always be prepared for the unexpected."

Mac gave her an approving nod. "Very good; we better get moving."

He slung his arm back around his partner's shoulders and once more the two of them continued their trek through the mesquite bushes and cactus.

The abandoned village was exactly where MacGyver said; a dozen cracked and crumbling adobe houses were scattered around the main square. A broken, weathered sign on the outskirts read _Yerba__ Buena._

"Good grass?" Gillian asked as she translated the sign. "Odd name for a village."

"I don't care if this place is called _Hell." Mac ran his hand over his face, weariness set in strongly now and it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open._

"I set everything up in the Alcalde's house; it's the biggest one in the village square."

"Right." Gillian gently put her arm around Mac's waist as she helped him walk. 

The houses were even worse shape close up, most of them were falling apart or collapsing in on themselves. Windows were broken out, the scattered glass all over the ground; wooden doors hung from broken hinges or gone totally as if the occupants had left in a great haste not caring what they destroyed on the way out.  

"Wait right here Mac, I'm going to try and find a lantern." Gillian leaned him against the doorframe, pulling a small flashlight from her pocket. She stepped into a little house; her beam of light moving back and forth across the dirt floor. Tons of garbage littered the floor and she pinched her nose closed at the foul smell. Moving from room to room she searched; finally finding a lantern. She pushed the glass up and turned the knob extending the wick. A quick check of her pockets produced a match and Gillian dragged it along the wall sparking it to life. The flame touched the wick and the decrepit room began filling with light.

"Found a lantern!" Gillian smiled proudly as she held the lamp high and made her way out of the ramshackle structure.

The Alcalde's house was the only one still in good shape; made of white adobe that had faded to grey with the passage of time. The door was open; still attached to the hinges and the glass in the windows was still intact. 

They walked down the wooden sidewalk to it and slipped inside.

The house was empty, huge piles of newspaper and broken dishes lay scattered all over the floor. The smell of rotting decay and age greeted them as they looked around. 

"The bedrooms are through the kitchen." MacGyver said in a low, weak voice.

Gillian walked them through the living room to a kitchen; the stove and fridge were of an older model but still looked fairly new despite the thick dust that covered them. A set of what looked like handmade wooden cabinets surrounded the appliances and a small wooden table with two chairs lay on their side in the middle of the floor.

A door led off of the kitchen and the pair of assassins stepped through it seeing a narrow hallway and four doors.

"Master's in the middle."

His partner made it down the hall and into the center door. In the corner of the large room was a pair of kerosene lamps, a pair of grey sleeping bags, a big first-aid kit, a small portable stove and two black backpacks. Leaning against the wall was an ancient looking mattress and box spring.

Gillian steadied Mac; his back against the doorframe. "I'm going to lay those down and cover them with a sleeping bag."

He gave her a small nod, his face pale.

She set the lantern down beside her mentor and went over to the mattress giving them a shove. They teetered over and hit the dirt floor with a poof, kicking up a little bit of dust. Gillian fanned it from her face as she walked around the bed and picked up a sleeping bag. She untied it, rolling it over the bed; covering the mattress surface as best she could.

"Come on Mac." Gillian went back over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she moved him away from the wall.  

"Your shoulder Gill…let me look at it." He mumbled as he leaned heavily against her with his full weight. 

"Worry about it later, you need to rest."

His partner held him up as best she could; the strain pulled her wounded shoulder hard. She whimpered, biting her lip as she backed up until her legs hit the bed and fell backwards onto it; her teacher on top of her.

"Mac?" Gillian rolled them over once seeing her partner's eyes were closed; finally succumbing to the fatigue and exertion from the adventure they had both been through.  

Gillian looked down at him touching his face gently. 

"Sleep for a while, I think we'll be safe here."

She took the guns from his holsters and the rifle from his shoulder, setting them on the edge of the bed; easily within reach if need be.

Yawning widely she rubbed her eyes and stretched out beside him; she too fell into a deep sleep.

MacGyver woke with a start sitting up fast. He looked around; the disorientation wearing off as he slumped back against the bed with a groan. His body was sore and achy, especially his back and chest from being tossed around the flipping SUV. He could only imagine the delightful colors of the rainbow he might be under his turtleneck. 

Gillian shifted, rolling onto her left side; her wounded shoulder complained and her eyes snapped open.

"Mac?"

"Yeah." Came the annoyed grumble.

"Are you okay?" 

"I'll live." He sat slowly up and turned towards his partner. "Let me look at your shoulder."

Gillian turned over onto her back and sat up. She touched the bottom of her turtleneck and started hiking it up. Normally she would cross her arms and simply pull it over her head but her throbbing shoulder dictated she couldn't.

"Can you help me Mac?"

With a sigh, MacGyver bent his partner forward and curled his fingers around the material. He slipped it over her head and with a slight tug, pulled it all the way off. 

Blood stained Gillian's white sports bra; the entry wound was near the strap and the crimson stain had soaked through it and spread a little down her chest. Gillian looked down at herself; going a little pale.

"Oh God."

Mac pulled the strap down her shoulder getting a better look at the wound. The hole was black; the bullet bruised the skin as it entered; turning it purple. 

"It's not that bad."

"It's not?" Gillian asked as she stared down at it. "Doesn't feel like it to me."

Mac gently turned her; seeing the large blood stain where the bullet had exited at the top of the shoulder. 

"It went right through the meat Gill."

MacGyver got up from the bed; he moved slowly to the corner of the room and got the first-aid kit. 

"Sore?" His partner asked; seeing the way he walked, like a hundred year old man.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mac sat back down on the bed and opened the kit up; pulling out some antiseptic and some cotton balls.

"When you're done with me it'll be your turn." Gillian laid back on the bed.

"Not much you can do for bruises." He wet the cotton ball and began cleaning out the wound.

Gillian flinched as she looked around the cracked, stained walls. "How did you find this place?"

The assassin squeezed the cotton ball, letting the alcohol run into the hole. "This isn't my first time in Mexico."

"Who were you sent to kill?" Gillian reached for her shoulder; her mentor took her hand before she could and placed it back down on the bed.

"The President of Mexico, a few years before I brought you into HIT."  He picked up a couple of gauze squares and the first-aid tape.  "Take off your bra."

His partner lifted her head, raising an eyebrow; a seductive smile forming on her lips.

"Sure." She ran her right hand down slowly over her chest; seeing his dark eyes watching her with the look of a hungry predator.  Her fingers slipped under the bottom of her bra and lifted it over her one arm then carefully down the other. 

"Is that better?" 

Mac gripped her upper arm, his fingers caressing it gently as he set a gauze square on top of her shoulder. He secured it with tape and placed another square over the entry wound.

"Hold it here."

Gillian touched it; her eyes still watching him. "What are we going to do Mac? Just stay here and lick our wounds?"

MacGyver cut two more strips of white tape and placed them on the top and bottom of the bandage. He pressed on them, making sure it was secure. "No."

"What then?"

With a sudden move Mac advanced onto his partner, forcing her back on the bed with his weight.

Gillian was flat on her back suddenly staring up at her partner; his eyes roaming down to her chest. She didn't have a large one, but the round fullness of each breast capped with soft pink nipples still fueled his lust.  He dropped his head burrowing against them; his tongue dragging down each slope.

Gillian gasped; grabbing his long hair. "It's my turn to take care of you." 

"I told you its _just_ bruises; you can't do anything for them." Mac raised his head capturing her lips with his. He kissed her hard with a hint of fierceness that left the young woman panting when he broke it.

"Please…I want to."

MacGyver sighed, leaning back on his haunches. "What is the point?"  He snapped at her, his displeasure clear.

His student sat up, getting on her knees in front of him. She placed her hands on his chest; feeling the heat of his bruised skin through the material of his turtleneck. Her hands roamed down it and clearly saw him flinch.

"Let me see Mac." She whispered; the tone of her voice gentle. That was the best way to handle Mac in a situation like this; with kid gloves and delicate touch.

The assassin said nothing, his gaze fixed on his half naked partner. He made no objection when she lifted up the bottom of his shirt and started pulling it up.

"Oh God…" Gillian breathed as his chest came into view; there were large purplish black bruises that started at his belly button and went all the way up to his collarbone. The pattern of them erratic with patches of undamaged flesh mixed in. The shirt was slipped over his head and set aside. 

"Poor Baby." She put her hands on his shoulders and eased him back on the bed. 

"My chest is worse than my back is." Mac shifted on the bed, the pressure of lying down did not set well with his purple back.

Gillian rummaged through the first-aid kit, trying to find something that would give her partner some relief. She found a small brown bottle and read the label; her eyes widening. "Arnica oil, perfect."

"For what?" 

"Roll over and you'll find out." Gillian opened the oil, getting a whiff of the light fragrance of flowers. 

MacGyver groaned, his chest complaining. "This better be worth it."

"It will, trust me." She unbuttoned her jeans, sliding them down her legs and dropping them onto the floor. Sitting on her mentor's behind, Gillian dribbled a small amount of the oil down Mac's spine. His back was purple but the damage was less than the condition of his chest; his shoulders tensed as the clear liquid slid down his back.

"You'll get some relief in a minute." She rubbed her hands in the oil and traced over every inch of his flesh, giving the arnica a chance to begin absorbing into his skin and taking away some of the pain. When his back had a sufficient coat, Gillian began with a lavender patch over his shoulder blades trying not to press too deeply into the injured skin.

Mac's body jerked; he hissed through his teeth. The rubdown began hurting his chest so he raised himself up on his elbows. "Careful now!" 

"I'm sorry." Gillian moved her hands away from his back. "I have to rub it in so it'll help you heal."

"I know but that doesn't stop the fact it hurts." Mac looked over his shoulder at her; his eyes slightly narrowed.

"I'll try and be more careful." She started the massage once again, moving gently over the ridges in his spinal cord. 

The medicine started kicking in and with it some pain relief. By the time Gillian reached her teacher's lower back he was moaning, wiggling under his protégé. 

"Feel better?" Gillian couldn't help but grin; his back felt a lot looser and the heat of the bruises had cooled down. Her partner was putty in her hands and she loved every minute of it; rocking her hips a little against his butt, causing him to groan once more.

Mac dropped his head, his body flinching again; only this time it was in pleasure, not pain. His pupil's innocent rubdown was quickly getting to him.

Gillian climbed off him. "Okay that's done let me take care of your chest."

He rolled over, sighing at how much easier he could breathe.

She moved back over him straddling his hips; a wicked grin on her lips as she saw his slightly pink face.

A few more drops of the oil coated her hands as she rested them on Mac's chest and glided them up it. 

"Poor Baby you're more colorful than a sunset." 

MacGyver closed his eyes, his hips raising Gillian up. She could feel something firm under her and she leaned over, trailing her tongue up her mentor's throat. She wanted him and couldn't deny it anymore despite how much she tried too, thinking about their mutual injuries. Her slickened fingers cupped his shoulders as she nipped his Adam's apple.

"Want you Mac…want you deep and hard." Gillian panted in his face as she rubbed against him, her black panties sliding against his fly.

"Want you too." Mac's fingers touched her thighs, gripping them firmly. "Look at me."

Gillian sat back up; her face flushed. She panted as she gazed into her partner's face.

"How can we? With my shoulder and your bruises?"

He shifted over, dumping Gillian off of him and onto the bed as he covered her body with his. 

"Do you know what you did?"  MacGyver breathed in her face, his breath warm but his tone was ice cold; as was his stare.

Gillian gulped, thinking about all the risks she had taken while behind the wheel of the Explorer. 

"I'm sorry."

"You're _sorry_?" His dark eyes narrowed as he pressed his body more firmly against her, sinking her into the mattress. He heard her gasp and saw the panic in her eyes as she stared up at him. The submissive expression on her face only added to his passion; his lips nuzzled the soft flesh of her throat.

"The way you handled that Explorer…you were in total control." His voice was husky, thick with desire as he nipped his way down the hollow of neck and over her collarbone.

Gillian squirmed, trapped beneath her teacher as his lips danced over chest.

"You showed Murdoc that he wasn't going to take us without a fight. You showed him who was boss." He trailed his warm tongue down the valley between her breasts.  "The power, the confidence, the skill – You turned me on so bad I almost couldn't take it."  

"Please Mac, take me." She whispered in his ear, her fingers playing with his long hair gripping it out of sheer frustration.

He rose above her on his forearms staring down at her with a deep lust that sent a shudder down her spine. Gillian's hands tugged her panties off, kicking them to the floor. 

Mac snaked his hand down his chest to the fly of his jeans and unbuttoned them. The tab of his zipper was pulled down along with his jeans and boxers; sliding them down his thighs as he freed his erection. He took a deep breath, trying to control the lust boiling through him. They were both hurting and the last thing he wanted to do was add to it. 

Gillian opened her legs beckoning him to her; her tongue sliding from between her parted lips to stroke over them.

He settled himself between his partner's thighs and eased into her honeyed center with a groan, his battered body reminding him of its current status. Mac rocked against her gently, tenderly. 

Gillian panted, his thrusts slow but deep and the friction they caused brought a flush to her face. She closed her eyes, her head tilting back against the sleeping bag.

"You've learned your lessons well Gillian." MacGyver's breathing was ragged as he dropped down on her. 

Normally their lovemaking was fast and furious; rocketing towards their goal and then it was over. This time it was different, MacGyver opened his eyes staring at her; seeing the love reflecting in her mahogany eyes.

"You got us out of that and I'm very pleased."  His mouth found hers, kissing her as his thrusts deepened; filling her completely. Gillian tore her mouth away from his as she cried out, her eyes squeezing shut. 

Mac felt her muscles grip around him, drawing his orgasm out slowly. He moaned; his head dropping back as Gillian arched her spine, both of them riding out their pleasure together until they stilled; panting, sweaty and exhausted.

"We need to do some things before we can get out of this village." 

Mac and Gillian sat on the bed, one of the backpacks between them. They were snacking on trail mix and granola bars, passing a canteen full of water back and forth. 

Gillian had put a t-shirt on, finding one in the other backpack. "Like what?"

He pulled another granola bar out and unwrapped it. "As soon as it's daylight we're going to do a little exploring." 

His partner nodded. "Transportation the first thing we need?"

"Right, there are plenty of houses scattered around here; maybe one of them has a vehicle in need of repair that I can get running." 

His partner nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah I'm sure we can find one." 

MacGyver watched her, seeing how pale she suddenly seemed. "Tired?"

She moved her hand from her face. "A little bit and dizzy; shoulder hurts."

He handed her his granola bar and cleared the bed, setting the pack on the ground.  Mac put his hand on her good shoulder and gently laid her down.

"That's normal, why don't you try and go back to sleep for a while. We have a couple hours time before its dawn."

"Will you lay down with me?" Gillian asked with a small smile, she enjoyed how her partner fussed over her; it was the nurturing side to his personality Mac rarely showed but still surprised her when he did.

"All right." Mac sighed as he unbuttoned his jeans, sliding them down his legs and stepping out of them. His boxers were a bright lemon yellow silk and they made Gillian widen her eyes; she hadn't paid much attention to them in the heat of passion but now they made her tighten her lips.

"Uhh Mac?"

"What?" He stretched out on the left side of the bed and raised his arm, letting his partner curl up beside him.

"Why exactly are you wearing that color?"

He turned towards her frowning. "What you don't like them?"

"Oh no no its not that. It's just that they're rather um…colorful, for you." Gillian finished off the granola bar, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah well I'm not too thrilled about having a canary colored ass but I didn't feel like going commando."  Mac dropped his left arm around Gillian's shoulder, being incredibly mindful of her wounds. He rubbed her back gently, trying to lull her to sleep.

Gillian's eyes felt heavy; the warm sliding hand of her partner relaxed her whole body. She sighed, setting her head on his chest. "We're going to get out of his right?"

MacGyver glanced down at her, his expression serious. "Yes we are, we've got a score to settle and its starts as soon as we get out of this village." He saw the relief on her face and raised his head, planting a kiss in her hair. "Go to sleep; the plan can wait 'til you wake up."

She gave him a slight nod as her eyes slid closed; she settled down and within a few minutes was fast asleep.

He watched her slumber, studying her peaceful serene face. Mac saw her square gauze through her t-shirt and a grimace drew his eyebrows together. He loved her; no one else was as perfectly matched to him and the fact someone tried to take her away only angered him. 

"We'll get them, we'll have our reckoning." He whispered against her hair as he gave it another kiss.  Mac lowered his head and stared up at the ceiling as his mind began going over the details of his plan.

Gillian crouched down, hiding behind a large mesquite bush. She had just finished checking out the far end of the village and was heading back to the square when a pair of headlights came out of the fading darkness. 

A dark colored Ford Bronco pulled up to the little tan adobe house and two men in black got out of it.

"Federales." Gillian whispered to herself as she touched her cheek, raising the small black microphone to her headset that rested there.

"Mac can you hear me?" 

_"Yeah, what's up?"_

"Federales-- a pair of them, just east of the square." She watched the men as they went through the house, their beams of their flashlights shining in the windows.

_"Vehicle?"_

"Ford Bronco."

_"It's almost daylight now and that means others will be coming soon to search this village."_

Gillian nodded; she reached behind her back and slowly pulled her Beretta out.  She slid the hammer back, gritting her teeth; that small action made her shoulder twinge.

"Want me to take them out?"

_"No, you're in no shape to. I'll get everything together, just grab the Bronco and come pick me up."_

"What about them?" She tucked her gun away and made her way towards the house; sitting under one of the windows in the front of it. Rising slightly up on her knees she peeked over the edge of the sill; the two men couldn't be seen but Gillian could hear them moving around. 

_"I'll leave that up to you just be careful."_

There were two ways out of there, the front and back door. She lowered back down and moved over to the wooden door, closing it quietly. Looking around on the ground Gillian spotted a thick sliver of wood; she tucked it under the doorframe, jamming it in as hard as she could.  

 "Right, hurry up and pack I'll be there soon." 

_"I'll be waiting."_

She lowered the mic away from her cheek as she stood up, moving around to the side of the house. Peeking around the wall she saw the backyard; it consisted of nothing but desert, the broken remains of a fence and what looked like a cart. The large ramshackle cart laid on its side, the big wooden wheels the size of manhole covers were split and warped.

"Perfect." 

Gillian went over to the cart; it had two long, thick wooden handles. She raised her feet high and brought them down; snapping them off.  The noise was loud, the wooden splintering with a distinct crack that seemed to echo, like her foot had stomped into a bowl of potato chips.

Her heart froze in her chest as she looked at the house, noticing that things had grown way too quiet.

"Damn it," she said to herself as she got her Beretta back out and ducked down low. Picking up the handles, Gillian crawled back over the door leaning her back against it.  

The window above her suddenly shattered as shots rang out from it; she turned around and faced the door.

The adobe around the backdoor was broken and crumbling; she wedged the first handle under the door knob, the second one was put across the door itself sticking it into the holes in the cracking doorframe. Pulling on it a little; the adobe held despite its dilapidated status.

The knob suddenly turned, causing her to jump back; her heart pounding from the sudden fright.

_"Quien es?__ Abra le puerta!"_

The two men pounded on the door, Gillian didn't stick around to see if they could get out. She raced around the house and over to the Bronco. Sliding behind the wheel of it, she heard the two men at the front door. 

_"Dejenos fueras de aqui!"___

Gillian reached down, relieved to see the keys dangling from the ignition. She turned it and the engine roared to life; she shifted it into gear and stomped on the gas pedal.

"Mac I got the Bronco, I'm on my way." She said into the headset as she steered towards the village square.

Alyssa sighed to herself as she stirred her martini with one finger, sucking the Absolut gin off of it. She closed her eyes with relish as she set the glass down on the edge of her dresser and grasped a pair of gold colored knobs. The double doors led to her closet and she pulled them back; stepping inside to gaze over the long line of elegant, expensive clothes.  

She chose a red silk robe and slipped it over her shoulders; tying it at her waist. After a long day of servicing clients; all she wanted to do now was relax and unwind in her bathtub.

Leaving the closet, Alyssa closed the doors behind her and went into the bathroom beside it; the room done in the ying yang shades of black and white.  Her massive rectangle tub looked more like a shining black mini swimming pool that was built into the center of the room.

"A good long soak will make me feel much better." She mumbled to herself as she crouched down and turned two gold handles; adjusting the temperature as the water streamed against the black marble. The drain was plugged and a handful of lavender bath crystals was dropped into the water, the soft scent wafting in the air. Beside the black bowl sat a white bottle of bubble bath; she uncapped it and squirted a healthy amount into the water; the white foam layer already beginning to grow thick as it spread throughout the tub. 

She grinned to herself as she stood up, dusting off her hands as she headed back to her bedroom to get her drink.

"Damn it, all my ice is gone." Alyssa sighed as she walked through the bedroom and down the hall towards the kitchen; retrieving a few more cubes for her glass.

Wandering back into the bathroom; she set her martini beside the tub and untied her robe, letting the silk slide down her body; puddling at her feet.  She reached up and ran her hands through her blond hair and brushed it away from her neck; the light locks spilling from between her fingers. With one hand firmly planted on the silver rail, Alyssa gingerly began stepping down into the water, sighing at its warmth. 

As her foot stretched out towards the fourth step; the bubble layer rippled, the circles spreading across the water. 

"What the _hell?_"  She stopped, pulling her foot back as she looked into the tub; her brow creasing as she leaned over.

A hand broke suddenly through the surface of the waist high water, gripping Alyssa around the throat. She gasped; grabbing at the hand as the man it was attached to rose up. 

Mac stood in the middle of the tub; the soapy water cascaded down his black tank top and jeans; the wet material clinging to his body. The water rolled down his face as his gaze bore into her; his dark eyes steely. 

"We have _a lot _to discuss Alyssa." 

Alyssa stared into his face, her eyes wide as she struggled against the fingers around her neck. 

"No we don't! Who are you?" Her voice a barely audible squeak.

"People that need information, bitch." Gillian walked into the bathroom, her Beretta held out in front of her, gripping it tightly. Dressed in all black; she too had a prominent scowl on her face. "And you're going to tell us everything we want to know or you won't live to see the next sunrise."

MacGyver pulled Alyssa off the stairs and into the water, holding her down into it for a few seconds before jerking her up and right into his face.

"Talk or drown!" The assassin hissed in her face. The coughing and sputtering young woman wiped the water from her face; her blue eyes wide and panicked.

He climbed out of the tub, dragging her with him; with a shove he sent her naked, wet form sliding across the cold checkered marble floor. Alyssa scrambled to the nearest corner; her body shaking.

"Talk to you about what? Who_ are you?"_

Gillian plucked a black towel from the nearby rack and tossed it to her mentor.

"You contacted me, telling us about Domino Demetrio's recent visit."

Mac caught the towel, pressing the thick terry cloth to his face. He wrapped it around his shoulders as he walked towards Alyssa; leaving large puddles from his soaking wet clothes.

"Remember _now_?" 

Alyssa swallowed hard, nodding as she reached up and grabbed a towel, using it to cover her as best she could. "But you weren't supposed--" She pressed her lips together, stopping in mid sentence.

"Supposed to _what_?" Mac started to advance on her, his stride fast as he crossed the floor; wanting nothing more than to break her over his knee like kindling. 

Gillian blocked him in an instant, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No, let me."

Their eyes met and MacGyver saw the cold menace darkening her eyes from brown to coal black. He gave a nod and backed off a step; plucking the towel from his neck, he continued to dry off as he wandered into the bedroom. His partner watched him leave and turned around slowly; seeing the cowering young woman.

Alyssa's heart nearly stopped in her chest as she watched Gillian approach her. She looked around; trying to find a way out of this room. The door was on the far side of the room between her and the intruders. Alyssa decided to take the chance; she got to her feet quickly making a break for it.

Gillian wasted no time; she jumped towards the fleeing woman landing on her back. Both women tumbled to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. Alyssa was shoved on her back; staring up at Gillian; who straddled her.

"Now…what were you going to say?" Gillian asked; reaching behind her. "I suggest you finish your statement."

Alyssa swallowed hard. "I…I was told you both wouldn't survive it."

"Who said that?" Mac walked back into the room, he had taken off his wet clothes and now had on a hunter green silk robe; his wet hair hung in thick locks down his chest as he sipped a small glass of whiskey. 

"Answer his question." Gillian demanded as she brought her hand back from behind her; showing Alyssa a long dagger with a black onyx handle. 

The blond woman gasped as the point of the dagger hovered over her face; she struggled a little but the movement came to a stop as the point moved closer.

Gillian grabbed Alyssa's long blond hair and bent her head back, the knife almost stabbing into one of her eyes.

"One last chance to talk or your thousand dollar a night price will fall to ten cents."  Her voice cold and deadly, promising that her words were not to be taken lightly.

"Elena…" Alyssa sputtered, taking a deep breath. "Elena told me, she had me call you and let you know where Domino was."

Gillian loosened her grip on Alyssa's hair and raised her eyes to look at Mac. "Elena?"

Mac walked over to both women and sat down on the edge of the tub; his glower had straightened his lips into a grim line.

"Who is Elena?" Gillian saw the recognition of the name flashing in her mentor's narrowed eyes.

He stood up fast; grabbing Gillian by the wrist and pulling her off of Alyssa. 

His partner said nothing; simply got out of Mac's way and replaced her dagger in the back of her belt.

One big hand enclosed around Alyssa's throat once more as the prostitute was jerked to her feet, coming face to face with a furious man.

"Where is she?"

Alyssa struggled to breathe, grabbing his hand with both of hers.  "Please…don't kill me. I was only doing as I was told. She paid me a lot of money to pass that information along to you about Domino."

Gillian crossed her arms over her chest. "Where is Elena?"

"Vera Cruz, she has a big white hacienda there."

Mac brought Alyssa closer to his face. "You've got ten minutes to pack and find yourself a new location. You better forget you _ever saw us or I __will find you." _

He opened his hand and shoved the young woman to the floor.

"The clock is ticking, Alyssa."

She stood up slowly and practically scampered out of the room.

Gillian watched her leave and went over to her mentor, standing in front of him.

"What is it Mac? Who is Elena? And why did you let Alyssa go?"

Mac grabbed her by both shoulders and pulled her towards him, kissing her hard. He wrapped his arms around her as he broke the kiss.

"Elena Cantar is one of the board members of HIT Gillian. She's the leak that Chancellor is trying to find."

He whispered in her ear, his grip around his partner steady when he heard her gasp and felt her stiffen in his arms.

"Oh my God, a board member?" Gillian whispered back; her heart pounding like mad in her ears.

"Yes. She's in league with Murdoc. That's how he's been able to find us anytime." He breathed in her ear, giving her goose bumps not only from his warm breath but the words he spoke.

Gillian swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly feeling like sandpaper. "What do we do? Don't the board members have high security?"

"I have a plan…a tricky one but I think we can pull it off." Mac kissed her ear lobe; his tongue circling it. "But first we have to get Alyssa out of here."

Gillian's body trembled as she gripped her mentor's shoulders tightly; she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. 

Alyssa scrambled around her room; a pair of large suitcases were open on top of her king size bed. She had dressed in jeans and a button down grey shirt; her blond hair tucked up under a baseball cap. She grabbed as many clothes as her arms could hold and threw them into the suitcases; patting them down. 

MacGyver's threatening words echoed in her mind and they gave her an involuntary shiver. She had blown it big time and now if she didn't get out of there her life would be the next thing blown.

The bottom drawer of her dresser was yanked out; full of money, papers and jewelry she dumped it on top of the clothes and zipped both suitcases up.

"Your time is almost up." 

A stern voice called from the doorframe and she hit the ceiling, whipping around to see MacGyver standing against it; his Beretta in his hand. He slid the top part of it back and raised his arm, pointing it at her.

"No, wait! I'm done!" She turned around and grabbed both cases, showing them to him; they shook slightly from the fact her whole body trembled.

The gape of his silk robe revealed Mac's expansive chest and sharp collar bones, looking tantalizing to the touch.

Alyssa licked her lips slowly; wondering for the briefest of moments what that tanned skin tasted like. She set both suitcases down and walked towards him. Her fear replaced by something else she could feel in the pit of her stomach and spreading south.

"I don't have to go you know." She now stood before him, reaching a shaking hand out to gently push the gun aside; her fingers roaming up his extended arm.

"Surely I've got something valuable to you." 

MacGyver lowered his Beretta as he watched her fingers trail up his arm and over his shoulder; her small hand slowly made its way towards the opening on his robe. 

He narrowed his eyes as her warm palm drifted across both his pecs, widening the opening for better access to his chest.

"You don't know what you're playing with Alyssa." 

"I know _exactly_ what I'm playing with."

Alyssa turned him towards her and bent her head, the soft scent of lavender wafting towards her. She      licked the warm flesh, groaning at the heady tangy flavor that hit her tongue.

Mac tucked his gun into the pocket of his robe and grabbed Alyssa by the back of the neck, forcing her face closer to his chest.

"Don't start something you aren't going to finish." He replied huskily, his fingers gripping her hair.

Alyssa saw the bruised flesh, the splashes of deep purple and black that covered his skin. Questions came to her mind as to why this man was bruised; but the set up came back to her; ceasing all further thoughts on the subject. She forced her head up, her blue eyes smoldering. 

"I plan on finishing it." 

She gripped the edges of his robe and pulled him towards her, backing up a few steps her legs hit the edge of the bed.

"It'll be on the house."

His hands came up suddenly and grabbed Alyssa's shoulders, shoving her backwards on the bed. He climbed up on it, stretching out over her like a panther; pulling the cap from her hair. Dropping his head, he attacked Alyssa's pink lips with the fervor and enthusiasm of a starving man. 

Gillian walked into the bedroom, stopping in mid stride when she saw the two people on top of the bed. She recognized the long blond hair of her mentor as he pinned Alyssa down, his back flexing as he ground his body against hers. 

Alyssa purred like a contented cat beneath him, her legs wrapping around his hips; her fingers clutching at his shoulders.

A wave of anger and heartbreak suddenly washed over Gillian; so strong she staggered as she turned away from the room; her back thumping against the wall beside the door.

_Of course…what was I expecting? He's a bad guy after all, why should he give a damn about anything or anyone?_ She thought to herself as she moved away from the wall and headed down the hall. The anger surged through her body and she had to be rid of it before laying eyes on her partner again. 

Mac's fingers gripped Alyssa's hair as he kissed her, the deep wet entwining of their tongues made his lower body begin to throb. He pulled away from her mouth for a moment taking some much needed air into his lungs. Glancing down at her face he froze; as if realizing for the first time who was under him. 

"Come on Darling, let's go." Alyssa panted, wiggling her hips against Mac's. 

She roamed her hands down his back, squeezing it; ignoring his flinch as her fingers found a tender spot.

"I'll be the best lay you've _ever had."_

Mac moved back on his haunches, his hand touched his side; reaching into his pocket and pulling the Beretta out from it.

"Get the hell out of here Alyssa; you've _had your fun." He hissed; his voice deepening to a cold and dangerous tone; his gun gripped firmly in his hand. He climbed off of her, kneeling on the bed._

Alyssa sat up slowly, smoothing down her now wildly tousled hair. She slid off the bed and stood on shaking legs as she once more picked up her suitcases.

The assassin watched her, his finger on the trigger as she passed him. His first instincts were to extend that arm and blow this grand a night floozy right off the planet. She had helped in the set up of him and Gillian up and now out of desperation had tried to worm her way into his good graces. Those facts alone dictated a death sentence yet something else stopped him from doing so, what it was he couldn't explain; he just kept his eyes locked on her as she headed out the door.

Alyssa raced out of the house and into the dark cool night lugging her suitcases with her; a black BMW sat at the far end of the gravel driveway and she rushed over to it. Fumbling with her keys she managed to get the trunk open and toss her cases in; slamming down the lid as she circled back around it and opened the driver's side door. 

Getting into the car she closed the door; sighing in relief as she leaned back against the seat. 

She had made it to the safety of her car, and now everything was going to be all right. A smile broke out on Alyssa's lips as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

A dark figure suddenly sprang up from the backseat; looping a thin wire around the unsuspecting prostitute's neck. 

"Enjoyed yourself did you? You should have just walked _away but oh no you had to lay your hands on him!" Gillian hissed in her ear as the wire tightened._

The wire cut into her skin, Alyssa gasped for breath as the blood began pouring down her neck. She struggled hard against Gillian, her arms and legs failing wildly.  She thumped her back against the seat trying as she tried in vain to get free.

Gillian raised her leg and propped it against the seat using it as leverage as her gloved hands jerked the wire back hard; the thin metal slicing all the way through Alyssa's neck, nearly decapitating her. 

A gagging, gurgling sound rang out as the blond woman suddenly stilled and slumped forward. 

Letting go of the wire, Gillian slid across the seat and opened the passenger side door; climbing out of the car. She walked around the back of the vehicle and picked the lock on the trunk, popping it open. Both suitcases were removed from the back and the body of the dead hooker was dragged and stuffed her into it.  The trunk lid slammed down once again and both pieces of luggage were picked up; a satisfied smile appeared on the face of the lady assassin as she carried the cases that contained money, jewels and expensive clothes back into the house. She set them down just inside the back door; her bright face growing dim. Alyssa had been dealt with but Mac had not and once again Gillian felt the anger rising within her.

MacGyver searched the house, trying to find his partner. There were a lot of things that needed to be done and having to play hide and seek with Gillian wasn't one of them.

He wandered through the living room, with its crystal chandelier and high vaulted ceiling; shining parquet floor and the olive green suede furniture. He shook his head as he took the hallway just off of it. 

Mac got halfway down it when he heard a loud ripping sound. He froze in place bringing his gun up; there were several doors down the long white hall and he chose the closest one.

The white door was cracked open and he pressed his face to it; his dark eyes widening when he saw his partner. 

Gillian was covered in sweat; the air around her was filled with feathers as she stabbed her dagger repeatedly into a big fluffy pillow.  She breathed hard as she grabbed the shredded pillow and tossed it aside, sending more feathers into the air. Mac placed one hand on the door and opened it a hair more; getting a better view of the room. The floor was covered with glass, broken pictures; the sheets had been cut into long rags and the stuffing had been pulled from the comforter. 

 Mac watched his student raise her arm high and plunge her dagger down into the bare mattress. The fury in that act and the rage on her flushed face as she repeatedly stabbed the mattress, her long hair flying wildly enticed him.

MacGyver swallowed hard, feeling the throbbing returning to his lower body. The strength and flames of his partner, her emotion so raw and open sent a fireball right to his groin. He had to have her, had to take her in his arms and let that passion consume him.

He tucked his gun away and pushed open the door, stepping into the room. Gillian stopped in mid stab and brushed her hair back from her shoulders; her fire turning to ice so quickly the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"Is she gone?" 

"Yeah."  Her stare suddenly sent a chill down his spine; it made his heart race.

"Good." Her partner stood between the bed and the door; she'd have to go around him to get to it.

"I'm sure we have work to do." She stated as she headed for the door, brushing by her mentor.

He could feel the heat of her body through her clothes and bit back a moan as she rubbed against him. Mac reached out and snagged her arm, spinning her around.

"It can wait."

Gillian looked down at the big hand enclosing around her upper arm and narrowed her eyes; her lips forming a thick line.

"I don't want to wait."

"Well I _do_." He pulled her towards him, slamming her body against his as he crushed his mouth to hers; wrapping his arms around her waist as he felt her struggle.

She managed to get her hands on his shoulders and gave him a shove off of her. 

"I think you've had _enough_ for one night!" Gillian hissed as she straightened her clothes; not caring at this point if her partner punished her or not. 

"What does that mean?" Mac asked; creasing his brow.

"Take a wild _guess_!" She held her dagger firmly in her hand and tried to leave the room again only to have her mentor grab her and pin her to the wall.

"I don't _play_ Twenty Questions!" MacGyver towered over her; his face flushed with anger.

Gillian raised her head; her stubbornness emerging as she pursed her mouth.

"Alyssa! You _screwed_ Alyssa!" Gillian glared at him; the rage that had made her kill Alyssa and trash the room turned to hurt and betrayal; clearly seen in her coffee eyes.

Mac pulled her off the wall and dropped her onto the bed. He covered her body with his, grabbing her wrists and pinning them down against the mattress. 

The struggles came to a fast halt; she was no match for him strength wise. 

Letting go of her left wrist, MacGyver sat back on his haunches. He plucked the dagger gently from her hand; his lips brushing against her palm as he gazed down at her, still seeing the ice in her stare.

The dagger was once more placed in her hand, curling her fingers around it. He kept one hand firmly around hers while the other roamed down his chest to the tie on his robe and pulled the bow free; the hunter green silk slipping down his arms.

Mac stared at her; his dark gaze unfaltering as he tugged on Gillian's wrist and moved the dagger towards his now uncovered chest. The point was placed directly over his heart; touching his skin. 

"All you have to do is put enough pressure on that blade to send it through my heart." He stated; keeping her wrist in place; the point now pressing into his flesh.

"Just one fast jab and I'm done."

Gillian swallowed hard as she slowly sat up; her eyes fixed on the dagger. The seriousness of this gesture making the strong emotions brewing within her evaporate; replaced by a sudden realization.

"You didn't have sex with her, did you?"

He put more pressure on the dagger, the blade sinking into his skin; a red trickle of blood rolled down his battered chest. Mac hissed through this teeth; the puncture wound now began to burn.

"If you think anyone _else_ can take your place in my heart or in my bed…just go ahead and run me through." 

His partner saw the rivulet of blood before raising her eyes to see MacGyver's face. Deadly serious; he waited for her to make up her mind.

Gillian moved the dagger away from his chest; his hand fell away from it as she set it down on the bed and shifted to her knees. She had on a black silk shirt and began unbuttoning it; letting the satiny material slip off of her. The next thing to go was her sports bra, carefully lifting it over her head; she flinched when her raising arm pulled at her bullet wound.  

Now they knelt face to face, both of them bare chested.

She picked up the dagger turning it towards her, the cold tip of the knife between both breasts; right up against her heart. 

Gillian reached out and picked up Mac's hand, moving it over hers to cover the black handle of the dagger. 

She gave his wrist the slightest of tugs; the point sinking into her skin, pricking her. A tiny flinch reflected on her face as the blood trickled down her ribs and stomach. 

Mac moved the dagger away from her and over the side of the bed. He opened his fingers letting it fall with a thud against the carpeting.

The couple moved towards one another, their arms wrapping around each other as the pair of identical wounds smeared together; the blood mixing. They both had just taken a blood oath; pledging their love and loyalty.

MacGyver pressed his hand to the back of Gillian's head and closed his eyes.

"We belong to each other now." Gillian replied as she held him tighter. 

"For always." He whispered as he pulled back from the hug. 

Mac put both hands on her shoulders and eased her back on the bed. 

There were tears streaming down Gillian's face as he moved over her, leaning down he kissed her trembling lips as his fingers worked at the button on her jeans. MacGyver moved to lie beside her as he pulled the jeans off; rolling Gillian towards him so they were now lying face to face. 

He closed his eyes and nuzzled the side of her face, silently saying what his mouth could not.

Gillian squeezed her eyes shut, both hands touching his head. 

"I know, you don't have to say it."  She turned towards him; their lips meeting once more.

She lifted her leg, draping it over his waist pulling him closer.

The assassin's hand roamed down her side, grasping her hip as he sunk into her warm center; the sweet tenderness of the moment made them both gasp.

Gillian touched his face stroking it gently as she captured his lips with hers.

Mac rolled them both over, ending up on top of his partner as the couple moved together in a slow steady rhythm. 

"Did you get rid of the body?"

MacGyver asked, looking down at the woman lying beside him. Gillian shook her head as she turned on her side to face him.

"No, she's in the trunk of the BMW."  She wasn't a bit surprised at the fact that her partner knew that Alyssa had been taken care of.

"We need to before we leave this place." He gave her a stern gaze, but behind his piercing eyes was amusement that Gillian had murdered Alyssa out of jealousy.

His partner nodded. "How much longer can we stay here?"

Mac sighed, shifting a little in the torn up bed. He tucked his arm under his head.

"Probably about 4 hours, that's the driving time between the abandoned village and Matamoros. Murdoc and the Federales are undoubtedly on their way."

Gillian sat up. "Then we better get going, the only advantage we _have_ is time and distance. And it'll take us almost 6 to get to Vera Cruz."

"Right, you got the case of jewels and money; grab a few more changes of clothes from the closet for both of us and we'll go." 

"Okay." Gillian climbed out of the bed, grabbing her clothes off the floor. She handed him his robe and he shrugged it on; tying it around him.

Gillian pulled several pairs of jeans for both her and Mac, along with several shirts from Alyssa's huge walk in closet. The hooker had a variety of clothes in all sizes, shapes and styles, lining one whole wall. 

The assassin gathered everything she had pilfered and was heading for the door when the toe of her black hiking boots caught the carpeting and caused her to fall flat on her stomach; the clothes scattering.

"What the hell?" 

Rising to her knees she saw what her foot had snagged, part of the tan carpeting appeared to be cut and had shifted forming a prominent lump. 

She ran her fingers over it, moving the carpet aside she saw a silver handle and lifted it; a large three foot square came up with it. 

The cubbyhole had half a dozen clear plastic foot long containers and she lifted one out, sitting down on the floor. The container was set down and Gillian pulled the lid off; her dark eyes widening at the contents.

The box was lined with videotapes; each one had a label on it and a name in black marker.

"Whoa..." Gillian whispered as she picked up a tape and looked at the label, recognizing the name of a US Senator written on it.

She set the tape aside and leaned back over, fishing another box out.  A quick glance inside yielded the same results however the men named were powerful business men.

Setting everything aside Gillian rose to her feet and ran out of the room in search of her mentor.

MacGyver had gotten dressed, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He reached down and took the last box out and opened it; reading the names on the tapes. He tilted the box a little so his student could see the names.

"Look at this."

Gillian creased her brow as she lifted her eyes to her teacher.

"Aren't those the names of the board members?" 

"Not all of them, the only names missing here is Elena Cantar and Chancellor." Mac picked up one of the tapes and popped open the cover; a slip of paper fell out of it and landed between his legs. He picked it up and unfolded it; reading what was written on it.

"What is that?" Gillian asked after a few moments; her teacher's face seemed to grow dark as his eyes scanned the paper.

Mac's eyes rose, focusing once more on Gillian.

"Blackmail."

"What do you mean blackmail?" Gillian crawled around her teacher and glanced at the paper. The note contained an account of how much money this particular tape had yielded the prostitute.

"5 thousand a month to be deposited in Alyssa's Zurich account."

"Makes me wonder what's on this tape that's so valuable." Mac licked his lips and pressed them together; a deep pensive look on his face. 

"Take all the papers out of all of these HIT tapes; I'm going to start loading these boxes into the back of the Bronco."

"Is that all that's in here?" Gillian peeked over the edge, sticking her head in the hole.

"Hey there's something you forgot in here." She reached down and grabbed it, pulling it out with both hands.

To her surprise it wasn't another box of tapes; it was a silver satellite phone like the one they had left in their plane.

"Mac look, we can get in touch with Chancellor again." 

"Yeah, but that's not the issue right now." He handed her the paper and stood up.

"Do as I said about those other papers, as soon as I load this stuff up we're gone."

Gillian nodded as her teacher stacked up the tape boxes and began taking them out to the Bronco.

"Well? What did you find out?" 

Mac glanced at his partner; an intense look of concentration on her face.  She found a pad and pen in the glove box and made notes as she carefully went through the dozen papers she had taken out of the video tapes cases.

Gillian wrote a few more things down and closed the pad, pinching the bridge of her nose as she leaned back in her seat.

"Well according to these papers, two of the board members are paying a total of 10 thousand dollars a month to Alyssa's account. Apparently whatever's on these tapes is compromising enough to get those guys to agree to pay."

MacGyver shook his head, his brows drawing together as he licked his lips. "No, this is about more than just money."

"What do you mean?"  She shifted in her seat towards him, crossing her legs.

The Bronco was suddenly pulled over and Mac turned sideways, facing his partner.

"Alyssa wasn't just banging guys and taping it for money. I think Elena was using her to get information on board members so they would vote any way she wanted them too."

Gillian nodded. "Makes sense, I doubt Elena would need the money and that would make Alyssa willing to do anything for her."

"Right." Mac faced forward and turned the wheel; getting the Bronco back on the road.

"We'll worry about that later; right now we have to worry about getting to Elena."

The papers were tucked into the notepad and placed in the glove box. Gillian ran her fingers through her loose hair and sighed. 

"And how do we do that?"  She asked as she stared out into the dark night; the two headlight beams barely cut through the inkiness that surrounded the moving vehicle like black velvet.

"Don't worry about that; the disguise kit is back in the plane, so we're going to have to get some stuff locally."

"Okay like what?" Gillian looked at her mentor curiously.

"A wig, some make up. A few chemicals…maybe a trip to an optometrist."

"Optometrist?" 

Mac glanced at her once seeing his protégé's doubtful expression. The light from the dashboard gave him an eerie grey appearance; the assassin's face was serious yet frightening.  Gillian knew that look all too well; it made her involuntarily shudder.

A group of six camouflage colored Broncos pulled up to the huge white hacienda, parking just outside the tall, spiked black wrought iron fence. A dozen Federales, all clad in olive green climbed out of the vehicles heavily armed with M-16s as they flanked both sides of the massive gate. 

Murdoc and Lopez were the last two men to join them, standing directly in front of the gate; staring up at the fancy white house.

"Keep your men away for the moment."

"What for?" Lopez asked as he shouldered his weapon.

"You don't know MacGyver the way I do, we have to be careful."

Lopez scoffed. "We've dealt with scum like this before, we can handle ourselves." 

Murdoc stared at the him; his dark eyes narrowing.

"With all due respect Comandante; you seem to have forgotten what MacGyver is capable of or do I need to remind you he's already killed 6 of your men?"

Lopez sighed as he looked at his men and waved them back with his hand.

_"Consiga detras, soporte ausente!"_

The men stepped back, watching as Murdoc approached the gate and began looking it over carefully. He checked every square inch of it, checking to see if it was rigged in any way with wires or perhaps even explosives. Murdoc even crouched down, studying the bottom of the gate with a keen, trained eye.

He saw nothing and sighed in relief as he unlatched it; sliding the heavy barrier back. 

Murdoc walked around the empty house slowly, sighing as he went down the long hallway. He wandered into the bathroom seeing the bathtub full of murky water. The bubbles had dissipated and he crouched down; running his hands along the surface. He brought his fingers close to his face; the strong scent of lavender filling his nose.

"Murdoc?"

He whipped around seeing Lopez come into the room; his heavy boots echoing against the tile. He adjusted his gun over his shoulder; the large weapon had slipped.

"What is it Lopez?"

The dark haired man pulled the cap off his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"My men and I have searched, we have found nothing."

Murdoc rose to his feet. "I suspected you wouldn't. MacGyver is too_ good_ to leave any trace behind."

He gazed around the tub; seeing the large drying puddles that led away from it and the towels that were strewn on the floor. He walked over to one and picked it up, studying it carefully. A long blond hair was on the floor beside it, standing out against the shiny black floor. Murdoc crouched down and picked it up, holding the golden strand to the light.

"Something happened in this bathroom."

"How can you tell?"

"Simple. This hair was yanked out, it didn't simply fall out." He straightened up and stretched the hair out to its full length. 

"See the root is visible."

Lopez nodded. "So you think there was a struggle of some kind?"

_"Commandante!"_

A voice called out from the doorway and both men turned towards it to see a young man; he had a plastic bag in his hands and waited for permission to come into the room.

Lopez sighed, waving him in. "_Si__, Que usted encontro?"_

_"Encontramos esto en la cocina."_ The young Federale brought the plastic bag to Lopez, gave him a fast salute and turned around; quickly leaving the room.

"It's a tape recorder; they found it in the kitchen." Lopez handed it to Murdoc, who opened the bag and took it out.

"Yes I can see that." He looked the black recorder over once before turning it over.

"It's got a tape in it." Murdoc sighed; knowing that this recording was more than likely something he didn't want to hear.

He ran his finger over the black play button and pressed it.  

_"Hi Murdoc, you're late. I expected to see you here when we were. Oh well there's always another time and place. Wish I could make this longer but I really must go. You're a smart man, I'm SURE you can guess where I'm going."_

Murdoc's blood froze in his veins as he swallowed hard; his dark eyes widening.

"Elena…he's going after Elena."

Lopez dark eyes narrowed. "Who is Elena?"

A flash of panic spread across Murdoc's face.  "Comandante, can we get a helicopter from headquarters?"

"Of course, I have one at my disposal."

The two men headed for the door, Murdoc still clutching the tape recorder in his hands.

"We needed to get to Vera Cruz as fast as we can."

The olive green military chopper landed in a meadow, the tall green grass and numerous trees waving in the breeze as Murdoc threw back the sliding door and jumped out. Elena's white house was huge with a center dome and steeple, it sat in the center of a shimmering lake; the surface like a mirror. 

Murdoc ran as fast as he could, the smell of smoke filling his nose and lungs the closer he got to the lake; brushing back the long branches and thick foliage that gave the area a natural covering. 

He emerged through a thicket of bushes and stopped dead in his tracks, the sweat pouring off of him.

The huge tattered structure was burning; it had been blown up, huge chunk of the house now lying in ruins that littered the surface of the water and the nearby shore. The white paint now charred black, the dome reduced to nothing but a half circle along with its steeple; bobbing slightly in the lake. The only thing left standing was the stone foundation that the house itself sat on top of. It had arches along the back of it and a porch area that had several statues; most of them now lying broken on their sides. 

"Oh God, Elena."  

Murdoc gasped as he dove into the water; swimming as fast as he could; trying to avoid all the bits and pieces of the house. He managed to grab onto the edge of the foundation and pull himself up onto it.  He laid on his back, trying to catch his breath. Wiping some of the water dripping from his face, Murdoc sat up and got to his feet. With a heavy heart and dread in the pit of his stomach, he started looking around for any trace of Elena.

The dark haired man stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the group of yellow clad fireman carry a black body bag out of the rubble. A body of a young woman had been found; she had been burned beyond recognition but the conclusion had been drawn that the body was that of Elena Cantar. Despite the terrible heartache, Murdoc's face remained stoic as he turned away walking along the bulkhead.

Lopez and his men were at the guard house directly behind him; the little building an exact replicate of Elena's house complete with dome. He had sent a group of men had come up from Mexico City to assist in the manhunt for MacGyver and Gillian; the half dozen men had been gone for the past six hours. 

Giving the rest of his men some last minute instructions to help the firemen any way they could, Lopez dismissed them, turning his gaze on Murdoc. The Comandante sighed; taking off his hat as he joined his friend by the edge of the shore.

"You have my deepest sympathies Murdoc." He said in a low voice, wadding up his hat in his hands.

"If there is anything I can do…" 

"Yes a matter of fact there _is Comandante." Murdoc whipped around; his dark eyes going a shade of oily black from both anger and despair. "Bring me MacGyver's head."_

Lopez's spine stiffened. "We are going after him now; we found tire tracks that head back towards Mexico City."

"Of course he is Lopez, we have his _plane don't forget!"_

"He wouldn't be foolish enough to try and get his plane. We have it in a hanger under the tightest of security!"

Murdoc took a few steps towards Lopez; so close they were practically nose to nose.

"He's got no other way out of the country Lopez, he _would go after his plane; it's the only chance he's got."_

The Comandante opened his mouth; he was about to speak when commotion from the guard house made both men turn their heads. A young soldier came racing out of it; his radio in his hands.

_"Comandante!__ Escuche eso!"  He fumbled with the radio, passing it to his commander._

Lopez held the walkie talkie up to his ear and waited.

_"Lo tenemos!__ Tenemos el asesino!"_

A huge grin came to Lopez's face as he pressed the button.

_"Excelente muchachos!__ Traigalo adentro, le satisferamos en las jefaturas." _

_"Si Comandante!"_

The radio went dead and Lopez handed it back to the young soldier.

"See Murdoc, we got him. I knew my men would not fail."

Murdoc nodded his head slowly; a cold expression blooming on his face as he stared at Lopez.

"Good, let's take the chopper back to headquarters than." 

The gaze in Murdoc's dark eyes and the sudden chill in his voice gave the Comandante a shudder down his spine.

MacGyver sat in a metal chair, his hands cuffed behind him. He was surrounded by six men, all of them in black. None of them looked very pleased to see him.

The office he was kept in had a metal desk in the center, two filing cabinets behind it on either side and a water cooler that periodically bubbled occupied the corner. 

A loud slam broke the awkward silence as Murdoc and Lopez entered the room, the men that flanked Mac suddenly stood up straight and tall; proud of their achievement.

Murdoc saw the assassin and zeroed in on him. The blond man had on black jeans and a blue silk shirt; his long hair unbound down his back. 

Lopez waved his men away with a flick of his wrist; they snapped him a salute and filed out of the room in a line.

Mac watched them leave before finally raising his head; meeting Murdoc's steely gaze.

"Finally caught up with me, huh Murdoc?"

Murdoc's fist snapped out swinging hard and fast; it caught MacGyver in the jaw and violently whipped his head sideways; the chair teetered a bit but remained on all four legs.

The assassin shook his head out, working his jaw a bit.  "Let me guess what _that was for."_

Murdoc grabbed Mac by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. "She _never_ did anything to you! She was innocent in all this!"

"Was she? Seems to me she wasn't! Chancellor has always treated Elena like a queen! She sold out HIT for what? To get some deep meaningful time with your _cock_?" Mac's eyes were blazing now as he and Murdoc breathed in each other's air.

His teeth clenching, Murdoc drew back and punched MacGyver again, throwing him to the ground he kicked the assassin in the ribs; forcing him to curl up a little in pain.

"That's it Murdoc… kill me." Mac coughed; his teeth speckled with blood. 

"Keep doing that and you'll never find Elena." He turned his head towards the cold floor and coughed again; his chest burning from his already damaged body taking more abuse.

Murdoc's eyes widened as he reached down and grabbed MacGyver by the shirt; hauling him back up and pushing him into his chair.

"Where is she?"

Mac breathed hard; a coy smile on his lips. "Who Elena? She's dead of course. I left her body for you to find."

This only infuriated Murdoc more; he grabbed Mac by the shoulders and drove his knee into his stomach. MacGyver hunched over, breathing hard as his stomach burned from the blow. 

Murdoc stepped back and watched him; a satisfied smirk on his face as he held his hand out towards Lopez and snapped his fingers.

_"Comandante, su arma."___

Lopez had been watching this, not wanting to get involved. Yes he too demanded justice for the death of his six men; but seeing the assassin hang by his neck would give to him more than hitting him. He sighed as he reached down at his side and pulled his Beretta from it. He gripped it by the barrel and stretched it out towards Murdoc.

"Here."

Murdoc took it, sliding back the top of it. "You see MacGyver, I know that if I turn you over to the Federales; you'll be behind bars for awhile, go through some lengthy trail and ultimately either meet your demise through a firing squad or getting your neck stretched."

He grabbed Mac by his blond hair and jerked his head back; stuffing the barrel of the gun under his chin.

"Why don't I save them all a lot of hassle by just pulling this trigger right now?"

Mac swallowed hard; staring up into Murdoc's cold callous face.  "Go ahead, you do that and you'll never get Elena back."

"Elena is _dead!_" Murdoc jabbed the barrel even harder into the tender skin under Mac's chin, causing him to wince. 

"Is she? Or maybe she's with Gillian. Pull that trigger and you'll _never_ know for sure."

Murdoc stared at him before raising his head to look at Lopez.  "How long will it take to identify the body we found?"

Lopez shook his head. "Days, maybe even a week. Depends on how fast we can get dental records."

He glanced down once more into MacGyver's face; torn between pulling that trigger and watching the assassin's brain getting splattered all over that room or locking him up. If there was even the slimmest chance Elena was alive only MacGyver knew where. As much as Murdoc wanted him to die; he couldn't take that chance.

"Well…looks like you were just granted a stay of execution."  Murdoc pulled the gun away from under Mac's jaw and slammed it into the side of the assassin's head, rendering him unconscious. 

MacGyver slumped forward again and Murdoc let go of his hair; letting him fall to the floor once again.

"Lock him up, and get me those results as fast as you can." Murdoc said as he stepped over the body that lay at his feet and handed Lopez back his gun.

Gillian crouched down behind a trio of blue oil barrels. Peeking around them she raised a pair of binoculars to her face. The white hanger came into view and with it came the four guards that walked the perimeter on each side of it; there were several lights shining down on it, lighting the whole area up like a Christmas tree. 

"Terrific." She whispered as she lowered her binoculars and put them back in the pocket of her black coveralls. 

A noise got her attention and she turned around; seeing the dark haired woman in black silk pajamas tied up beside her. Her long dark hair hanging in her face, Elena bucked a little against the ropes.

Gillian sighed, pulling the bandana out of her mouth. "What?"

Elena licked her lips and swallowed hard; her throat dry and parched from the long hours being spent gagged.

"Just let me go Gillian, we can work something out."

"I don't think so. We've got plans for you." Before Elena could utter another word; the bandana was stuffed back in her mouth.

The captured woman tried to speak; wiggling around like a fish in the bottom of a rowboat, her feet kicking up sand.  

Gillian sighed; reaching down her hand curled around the collar of Elena's shirt and pulled her into a sitting position. 

"Now you _listen_ to me." Gillian spoke in a harsh whisper; her fingers twisting the shirt so it began to cut off Elena's air supply; she reached inside her coveralls and pulled her Beretta out, raising the barrel towards Elena's forehead.

"Do something stupid and I can promise you a _slow and very painful death. I've got to go get our plane out of that hanger so I can rescue Mac and get us the __hell out of this country.  Cooperate and you just might make it out of this in one piece but _piss_ me off and I'll bury your bony ass in this desert!"_

Elena stared wide eyed into the barrel before looking into the lady assassin's face, seeing that she meant every word spoken. She gave Gillian a nod, her struggling stopping in an instant.

"Good, very good." Gillian let go of her and leaned her back against a barrel.

"Now, just stay put. I'll be back."

Gillian stood up, she began running towards the hanger; her black clothes blending in with the dark night, rendering her invisible.

_"Come on, wake up!"_

A bucket of cold water was thrown on the sleeping prisoner; MacGyver opened his eyes, the shock of the water's temperature pulling him back from unconsciousness. There were a couple of things that he was aware of almost instantly. First, that his head was pounding something fierce; he could feel a large lump forming near his right temple. He went to raise his hand to touch it only to discover that he couldn't; the second realization being that his arms and legs were tied down with thick leather straps, they were connected together by a strap that went across his waist and straight down to his ankles. 

He lifted his head up, the water rolling down his face as he saw Murdoc standing at the foot of the bed, a metal bucket in his hands and the bars that were behind him.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

The bucket was set down with a clank as Murdoc picked up a chair that leaned against the wall and parked it beside the small prison cot.

"I've got a question or two."

Mac watched him, through slightly narrowed eyes as he lowered his head back down on the cot; staring up at the ceiling. 

Murdoc turned the chair backwards and sat down, his arms leaning against the back of the chair.

"You want to tell me what your lady friend is up to?" 

The assassin turned his head slowly sideways; he didn't say one word.

"Come on MacGyver, you didn't _really think I believe you were caught fair and square did you?"_

He got up from the chair and walked around the cell.

"You're too _good_ to be caught like that; you purposely let them capture you."

"And what if I did?" Mac raised his head again.

"I checked on your plane, its fine. Sitting at the terminal in the middle of the desert surrounded by Federales."  

Mac didn't answer him, just pulled a little at the restraints as he thumped his head against the mattress. 

A rather pleased grin came to Murdoc's face as he watched his nemesis struggle with the thick leather straps.

"Oh I'm so sorry MacGyver for the bonds; but I couldn't take the chance of you escaping. You seem to have quite the knack for it so I had these specially made." 

Walking back over to the cot, Murdoc reached out and grabbed one of the straps around Mac's ankle; giving it a tug. 

"See? An elephant couldn't break them and I even had locks built right into them." 

He glanced down at Mac's bare feet.  "The only way to get them off without the key is to chew your own hands and feet off."

Turning his back once again, Murdoc began pacing the cell. "Why don't you do yourself a favor and tell me where Elena is?"

"I don't think so." 

Murdoc turned back towards the cot; a cold expression darkened his face.

"Ever heard of strychnine MacGyver?" 

The dark haired man pulled a syringe from his breast pocket; the clear plastic cover on it.

"It's quite deadly; I was _so hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this."_

MacGyver stared at the syringe, knowing full well the sort of nasty things strychnine did to the body. It often caused violent muscles spasms and asphyxia. He had used it many times himself when the client had wanted their enemy to die a particularly painful death. Now suddenly he was the one on the other side of the needle. 

"Last chance."  Murdoc stated, moving the hypodermic between his fingers side to side like a pendulum.

Once again, Mac said nothing.

"Fine have it your way." 

Pulling a piece of rubber tubing from his pocket, Murdoc approached the cot; he turned his chair the right away and sat down, hiking up MacGyver's sleeve. He tied the tubing around the assassin's upper arm; the needle was once again pulled from Murdoc's breast pocket, along with an alcohol pad. The cover was popped off with his thumb nail; the liquid shot out the tip ensuring that all the air bubbles were gone.

"I don't have to tell you how painful this is going to be. There's not enough of the strychnine to _kill_ you right away; your death will be nice and slow."

MacGyver struggled hard against his restraints as the alcohol pad was swabbed in the crook of his arm. He kept his mouth closed, not about to give Murdoc the satisfaction of hearing him plead and beg for his life. He watched the needle coming closer and closer to his arm; waiting for it to pierce his skin.

_"Murdoc!"_

A deep voice shouted down the hall and Murdoc turned to acknowledge it with a scowl; moving the needle away from Mac. 

"What Lopez? I'm busy!"

The assassin closed his eyes briefly in silent relief; dropping his head back against cot. A few beads of sweat rolled down the hollow of his neck as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

The Comandante, red face and panting, raced down the corridor; stopping at the last cell.

"I just tried to contact my men at the hanger; none of them responded."

Murdoc's eyes had narrowed to black slits and he slowly turned his head back to stare down at the suddenly grinning assassin.

"Lopez get the hand and leg cuffs, I want to bring him along." He replaced the cap on the syringe and stood up.

Mac was shoved into a chair and once again surrounded by a group of Federales. A wooden table was right in front of him; large stacks of manila file folders piled high all over the surface. Murdoc and Lopez were at the other end near the radio; the two men looking angry and upset as the CB mike and picked up.

_"Alvarado? Sanchez? Adelante!"_

Lopez set the mic down and turned the dial on the big black box; a barrage of static coming from the speakers. He raised his eyes to look at Mac.

"Try again Lopez." Murdoc said as he too gawked at the blond man sitting on the end of the table.

The mic was once more raised to his mouth.

_"Alvarado, contesteme.__ Esta usted alli?"_

Lopez let go of the button and waited.

_"Sí Comandante, estoy aquí. Apesadumbrado para retrasa. Hay una cierta interferencia en este extremo, yo puede oírle apenas."_

"It was interference Murdoc, nothing more." The Comandante sighed, closing his eyes briefly as he adjusted a few of the knobs on the CB radio.

_"Puede usted mejor ahora oírme?"___

_"Si Comandante,_ _todo__ está muy bien. Mis hombres y yo guardaremos nuestros ojos hacia fuera para el otro asesino."_

He nodded, pressing the mic button. _"Bueno, comprobaremos detrás en treinta minutos."___

Lopez set the microphone down on top of the CB radio.

"Everything is fine. We'll contact them again in 30 minutes." He walked around the table to Mac; standing over him.

"Looks like your little girlfriend isn't daring enough to get that plane after all."

MacGyver lifted his head; a frosty smile on his face that lit up his dark eyes.

"She will, and when she does there'll be four more dead men to add to the body count."

The face staring at him suddenly darkened as Lopez's lips tightened at the thought of any more of his men meeting their end thanks to this assassin and his partner. His right fist curled up, his fingernails digging into the skin of his palm. Lopez took one step back and let his fist fly, catching Mac in the jaw. 

The strength of the blow knocked the blond man into the table. His eyes rolled back in his head as he slumped against one corner; his body weight pulling the table with him as he lost consciousness. 

The table ended up on its side, file folders dumped onto the floor; the papers in them scattering everywhere. The CB radio also crashed against the linoleum with a sizzle, smoke beginning to pour out of it as it shorted out; setting some of the papers around it on fire.

Mac's jaw throbbed as he curled up in a fetal position; looking around for anything that would be handy.

The Federales all scrambled about; trying to put out both the radio and the papers. No one seemed to be paying much attention to him. 

Mac spotted a file folder with a metal clip on it and grabbed it; tearing the folder as he did so and stuck the small piece of metal into the handcuff lock.

Murdoc sighed, not believing the chaos that was happening over something as trivial as a fire. He saw a fire extinguisher mounted on the far wall and jerked it off. He pulled out the pin and shot the fog at the radio; the chemical smutting out the fire in a matter of seconds.

"There! It's out!" He shouted as he thumped the extinguisher against the chest of nearby soldier; seeing his sudden embarrassment. Murdoc's annoyed scowl caused the federale to lower his head.

Lopez shook his head; he too embarrassed at his men's behavior. He started to open his mouth when he noticed something; his dark eyes rounding like dinner plates as he looked around.

"_Maricon_!"_ _

 Murdoc whipped around; seeing the Comandante's face. 

"What?"

Lopez bent over and picked something up near the fallen table; raising his arm he showed Murdoc a pair of handcuffs connected to a pair of leg cuffs.

"Your assassin is gone."

MacGyver thumped his back against the wall as he raised his newly acquired Beretta, barrel up. He was in the locker room and leaned against a white tile wall as the door opened right beside him. He held his breath; watching a dark head peek in and look around at the plain beige lockers that lined all the walls. Satisfied that everything was clear; the door slowly closed.  

Mac lowered his gun as he walked back over to the bench and raised one leg and then the other; tying his boots tightly. He found a spare black uniform in one of the lockers and put it on; tucking his long hair up under the cap.  He put his Beretta into the holster that went across his right thigh and carefully opened the door. Spotting the hallway was clear, MacGyver made his way down it; slipping into the door marked ROOF.

Gillian typed on the keys of the on-board computer, programming the jet to fly in a low circle above the roof of the Federale Headquarters; the building, a slate grey color, stood on the outskirts of Mexico City.  

She finished the program and hit the enter key; the computer calculated what was needed and a green light on the instrument panel flashed once before the autopilot kicked in. 

The plane suddenly turned sharply to the right as the program activated and the jet began to circle the building just below it. Gillian sighed, grateful that the new technology that had been added to the jet included a stealth mode for noiseless flying. MacGyver had spent over a million dollars turning the white Lear jet into something a little more top of the line; there were even weapons but Gillian hoped that they could make their escape without having to use them.

She climbed out of the seat and came out of the cockpit; the exit right there she grabbed the metal handle and opened the door; a blast of the cold night air blew back her hair. 

A rope ladder sat in one of the leather captain's chair; Gillian crouched down and tied one end around the base of the closest chair to the door and threw the bundle out of the plane.

Mac threw the rooftop door open; hanging onto his cap, he lifted his head seeing the bright white of the jet; a sharp contrast to the black night.

"Gillian." He whispered as some commotion coming from the door and the distinct stomping of boots got his attention.

He stepped back into the stairwell peering down at the stairs; he saw several flashes of black. 

"Oh terrific." Mac whispered as he slammed the door and looked around for something to put in front of it.

The rooftop was empty; not one useful thing in sight, not even an antenna. He snatched the cap from his head and dropped it; lifting his chin once more to see the plane was almost ready to start circling back towards the roof.

He thought of something and began touching all of his pockets and the duty belt around his waist. His fingers brushed a pouch that contained a pair of handcuffs and one beside it that felt like a knife. 

His hands touched the Beretta at his thigh and he pulled it out of the holster. Pressing the button on the bottom; Mac popped the clip out and looked at it. His eyes roaming over it before glancing at the space under the door; it seemed to be just the right size.

MacGyver dashed over to the door and jammed the clip under it as hard as he could; bringing his boot down onto it.  The doorknob began to jingle and he backed away from it fast.

Murdoc, Lopez and the gang of soldiers were on the other side of that door and began to throw their shoulders against it. 

The assassin checked the clip seeing that it was starting to slip; it held despite the abuse it suffered yet he couldn't be sure for how much longer.  A couple more slams into the door and he was caught. 

"Can't let that happen." He whispered to himself as he moved to the farthest point he could.  

MacGyver stared across the roof; watching the rope ladder coming closer… it was close but not close enough. He took a deep breath and started running; feeling his heart pounding hard in his chest and the air burning his lungs. He passed the roof door and a loud clang rang out as the ammo clip gave way.

Mac didn't even turn to acknowledge it, just kept racing towards the opposite end of the roof.

_"Oh my God!"_  Gillian gasped as she watched her mentor, knowing exactly what he was going to try. She poked her head back into the plane and quickly climbed back into the pilot's seat. She disengaged the autopilot and grabbed the wheel turning it hard to the left; hoping to God she could get the ladder to her teacher before he fell to his death.

MacGyver hit the edge of the roof at full force, pushing off of it has hard as his strong legs could. He closed his eyes; feeling the rush of air blowing through his hair as he stretched his arms out; his fingers reaching for something that he knew full well might _not be there.  _

He felt himself start to fall but he wasn't worried; either way Murdoc wasn't going to get him. He waited for the inevitable; the force of his falling body meeting the desert floor. 

Mac stopped reaching, his arms moving out to his sides as if he was taking a header into a swimming pool. Something suddenly brushed his head and instinctually he grabbed it; feeling the bite of the twine against his palm. He wrapped both hands around it; his body swinging vertically.  

The assassin slowly opened his eyes and raised his head; he saw the jet above him.  A smile came to his face as he began climbing up the rope ladder. 

72 hours later…

A young thin dark haired woman sat in a glass office behind a black chrome and glass desk typing away at a black computer. Dressed in a black and white Chanel cashmere dress; Monique Rousseau sighed as she crossed her legs, reaching for her tiny black cup of Espresso.  

_"Bon Jour Monique…"_

Startled, she nearly dropped her cup as she raised her head to see MacGyver and Gillian standing over her.

The pair of assassins were dressed to the hilt. Mac in a snow white dress shirt and black dress pants; his hair tied back in a pony tail. The only flaw in his immaculate appearance was a purple mark on his jaw from where both Lopez and Murdoc had slugged him.

Gillian was beside him, her dress just as sharp; a black business suit wrapped around her frame and her bright red hair put up in a bun. 

Monique looked them both over; a pleased grin came to her face. _"Vous tous les deux merveilleux, Chancellor semblent-ils vous attend-il?"_

Gillian raised both eyebrows. "Um what did she say?"

Mac shook his head. "I thought I told you to learn a language?"

"I did. I learned German not French."

Her partner sighed heavily rolling his eyes. "Monique said we looked nice and asked if Chancellor is expecting us."

_"Merci Monique."_ Gillian replied, her face reddening as she saw the young woman give her a smile and a nod of her head.

MacGyver saw her embarrassment and cocked his head towards her.  _"Mon associé, que pensez-vous à elle?"_

Monique stood up and gave Gillian the once over; her hazel eyes taking in every detail of the red haired woman's shape and appearance. She leaned towards Gillian and sniffed the air close to her.

_"Belle."_ Monique stretched out her hand towards a pair of black doors. _"Chancellor vous attend tous les deux."_

Mac gave her another nod. _"Merci Monique."  _

He wrapped his hands around the double door knobs and pulled them back; stepping into the room he closed them behind him. 

"Just let me do the talking." 

MacGyver stated as he and Gillian walked across a shiny black marble floor.

"Did they say where Elena was taken?"

"No, but I suspect she's still in this country; probably at Chancellor's villa down in the French Riviera."

They reached the doors and Mac glanced at his partner.

"Ready?"

Gillian looked down at herself and raised her chin; this was the first time she was ever going to meet Chancellor face to face and her stomach currently did back flips.

"Ready."

MacGyver gave her a nod and grasped both handles; pulling back a second set of doors.

The office was massive, as big as a Cathedral. The floor made of black marble, the white walls were bare. The only thing in it was an equally gigantic oak desk that sat in the center of the room, the back of a black leather chair stood behind it. 

"Ahh MacGyver, Gillian…do come in." His deep voice echoing in the barren room; the chair swiveled around as the couple approached. And there he was, a snow haired older man with the sharp green eyes and regal face; reminding Gillian of a high society gentleman. He wore a double breasted olive green suit and taupe colored shirt; giving them both a gentle grin as they stood in front of his desk. 

"Chancellor." Mac said with the hint of a smile, his eyes roaming the surface of the desk expecting to see a silver briefcase.

"So where's the money?" He asked; his arms crossing over his chest as his smile faded to a glower.

"That's what I wanted to see the both of you for MacGyver." Chancellor reached out and gently took Gillian's hand.

"I'm so pleased to see you Gillian; you're even lovelier in person." A pair of warm lips brushed against her hand and she felt her face instantly redden.

"I'm glad to finally see you too Chancellor."

MacGyver raised an eyebrow, licking his lips. He didn't appreciate this obvious dodge to his question. "The money?"

"Of course, my apologies." Chancellor let go of Gillian's hand and folded them on his desk.

"You're not getting any."

"I _figured_ that when I saw your empty desk. My question is why."

"I can answer that MacGyver."  

The office doors were pulled closed by a tall slender man in a charcoal grey suit; his light brown hair slicked back. He had light blue eyes, seemingly innocent yet there was something chilling about their gaze; he had the look of a hunter as he approached Chancellor's desk.

"Oh Jesus _Christ." Mac stated under his breath as he rolled his eyes._

"What the _hell_ do you want Ashby?"

"Your head of course, but I'll settle for telling you this thrilling news."

Gillian creased her brow as she tilted her head towards her mentor. 

"Who?"

"Former assassin turned board butt-kisser." Her partner answered back.

"Dylan Ashby."  Ashby stated as he held out his hand towards Gillian. She went to shake it only to have him lift it towards his mouth. 

"I'm Chancellor's new right hand man now that Elena Cantar has been taken stripped of her duties and it's _truly an honor to meet you Miss MacKenzie."_

"It'd watch my _back_ if I were you Chancellor." Mac's eyes narrowed; Ashby still had his partner's hand and the way he held it sent a hot flash of anger rolling up his spine.

The tip of his tongue nonchalantly brushed along the seam of Gillian's first two fingers. Ashby lifted his eyes to gaze at her; they flashed like diamonds, their message clear. Ashby wanted her and the red haired woman suddenly shuddered; jerking her hand away from his.

Mac saw his partner's suddenly pale face and his brown eyes turned volcanic; he took two fast steps towards the well heeled man. With a gentle hand he touched Gillian's hip, moving her aside so he could stand toe to toe with Ashby.

"Touch her _again_ and you're dead. Whatever you've got to tell me speak _fast or Chancellor is going to have a human throw rug made out of your ass to wipe his feet on."_

Dylan chuckled; his hand straightening his light grey tie. "You always _did_ get right to the point MacGyver."

Mac's leaned closer to Ashby; their noses touching.  "I'm _waiting_."

"Give the man a chance to speak please." Chancellor stated; his calming tone made Mac take one step back, yet his grimace remained.

"Thank you Chancellor." Dylan cleared his throat as he circled the big desk; standing to Chancellor's right.

"Although we are all truly grateful that you both found the leak; the board members have all agreed that your actions in Mexico were simply inexcusable."

Gillian's mouth dropped open as she glanced at her mentor.

"Our _actions_?" 

"Yes Miss MacKenzie." Ashby folded his hands in front of him. "As you both are aware HIT has many holdings down in Mexico and have certain politicians there on our payroll to ensure that our interests are protected.  The two of you murdered 12 people, 10 of them Federale agents." 

Now suddenly he was the one scowling, looking at the pair of assassins with disdain.

"The two of you didn't _think_ that the politicians and the President there wouldn't react badly to that? We've got every person with an _ounce_ of power down there screaming for your blood." His gaze shifted to Mac.

"Especially yours MacGyver; Frederico Lopez was most adamant about that. In fact, the Mexican government offered HIT a 10 million dollar reward for both of you."

MacGyver uncrossed his arms; letting his right arm dangle between him and Gillian. He flicked his wrist; feeling the cold metal of his gun quietly slide into his palm.

"And you're going to take it to recoup some of the losses?"  Mac's voice was eerily calm as he glanced at Gillian; giving her the tiniest of nods.

Dylan's face suddenly turned red. "You're out of control! You tell me one _reason_ why we shouldn't! You _killed_ a dozen people MacGyver!"

"Would you like to make it 13?" 

Chancellor stood up, putting his arms out towards both men.

"All right let's settle down."  He shot a paternal gaze at his best assassin. "Put it away MacGyver."

Mac raised his hand and opened it; the gun slipping back into his sleeve.

"Satisfied?"

"Completely."  Chancellor kept his eyes on Mac. "No we're not going to take the money. You both have been loyal to this organization for many years. MacGyver you've obeyed our orders without question and it's for that reason that the board has decided to let you and Gillian walk out of here. Your safety is guaranteed to leave this country."

He reached down and flipped a switch along the edge of his desk. Mac saw him and his eyes shifted briefly upwards; there were gun turrets in all four corners of the ceiling and their red lights turned off. Chancellor could have blown them both away at any time. He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress the anger building in his chest.   

"Just like that, you're firing us _just like that?"  _

Chancellor said nothing; he simply looked away as he sat back down.

Mac nodded slowly. "That's just _fine Chancellor, you go right ahead but you just did the worst possible thing for this organization. You've made an enemy out of me."_

He reached down and took Gillian's hand, enclosing his around it. Without another word spoken the pair of assassins turned and walked out of the room.


End file.
